"Boruto, didn't Shino-sensei punish you?"
In the Ninja Academy classroom, Denki looked at Boruto, who had just opened the door and walked in.
Boruto shrugged. "My dad's the Hokage. What can he punish me for? Shino-sensei just wanted to have a chat."
Denki let out a sigh of relief. "I was so scared. I thought you were going to get suspended again, Boruto."
At another table, a slightly chubby student whispered,
"It's nice having the Hokage as your dad. No matter what you do, you'll always be forgiven."
Another student wearing a hat added, "Yeah, I really envy those second-gen and third-gen kids. If I ever scared a teacher like that, I'd have been expelled already."
Seeing Boruto safe and sound, Class Rep Sumire sighed softly in relief. "That's great."
Sarada, noticing her reaction, gave her a sharp look. "Class Rep, you seem especially worried about Boruto?"
Sumire's cheeks flushed red. She waved her hands nervously. "N-no, Sarada… I'm just the class rep. I'm supposed to be concerned about all my classmates."
Sarada smirked slightly, amused by her flustered response. Pushing her glasses up, she turned her gaze back to Boruto.
By then, Boruto was already surrounded by several girls, looking a little lost.
"Boruto, you're amazing!"
One girl looked at him with bright eyes full of admiration.
"Boruto, your Transformation Jutsu is incredible! Can you teach me?" another asked eagerly.
Boruto scratched his head sheepishly, thinking, Is this what Sasuke was like as a kid?
"Boruto's really popular, huh," Sumire commented.
But when she looked beside her, Sarada was already on her feet, walking straight toward Boruto.
"Hey, class is about to start! What are you all still standing around for?" Sarada said briskly. She walked past them, one hand resting naturally on Boruto's arm, leading him to his seat.
Feeling the warmth of her touch, Boruto smiled. "Are you jealous?"
"Hey, Sarada, what are you doing all of a sudden?" he asked, trying to pull away—but she held on tighter.
"Stop talking and get back to your seat. Otherwise, the teacher's going to call you out," Sarada said firmly, dragging him to sit next to her, leaving almost no space between them.
The nearby students began whispering and snickering, full of curiosity and gossip.
Just then, the classroom door opened again. Iwabe strode in, his eyes immediately locking onto Boruto.
He walked straight up to him and bowed deeply. "Boruto, I'm sorry."
Before anyone could react, there was a burst of white smoke. "Bang!"
Boruto had transformed into Tendo Pain.
"It seems you've accepted this pain… but it's not enough."
He raised a hand, pointing it menacingly at Iwabe.
"Boruto…" Sumire's face went pale, her voice trembling as she almost shouted out.
[Emotions from Yuino Iwabe — Progress Bar +14]
Sweat formed on Iwabe's forehead as he stared at Tendo Pain in front of him.
Boruto suddenly grinned. "Just kidding."
He released the Transformation Jutsu and formed the Seal of Reconciliation.
Iwabe blinked, stunned for a moment, then let out a breath of relief.
The rest of the class laughed, and the tense mood immediately lightened.
Seeing the misunderstanding resolved, Sumire finally relaxed, her heart settling.
At that moment, Aburame Shino entered the classroom.
"Stand up!"
Sumire called out, and everyone stood up in unison to greet their teacher.
A bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.
"Ah, school's finally over! I'm starving—if class went on any longer, I'd have died!" Denki complained.
"Come on, Sarada. I'll walk you home."
Boruto stretched, stood up, and held out his hand to her.
"Um…"
Sarada replied softly, placing her hand in his. The two walked out of the classroom side by side.
"Boruto and Sarada really have a good relationship," Denki said, watching them leave hand-in-hand.
"Well, they're childhood friends," Shikadai added, glancing at them. "Their parents know each other. My dad's even the Hokage's advisor—we all have dinner together sometimes."
"Oh, I see…" Denki nodded, finally understanding.
On the streets of Konoha, Boruto and Sarada walked side by side under the setting sun. Their shadows stretched long across the road, and the village bustled with life around them.
"Boruto, you really stole the spotlight today," Sarada teased with a smile.
"No, no, it was nothing." Boruto waved modestly.
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from ahead—followed by a flash of fire cutting through the air.
"That's Ninjutsu! Someone's using Ninjutsu in the middle of the street?" Sarada exclaimed.
"Who knows. Maybe the guy's just looking for trouble… or pain," Boruto said, transforming once more into Tendo Pain.
A slightly plump young man in white stood in the center of the street, his face twisted in anger.
"Damn Ninja Academy! Those idiots wouldn't let me graduate! I'll show them my power today!"
He formed hand seals and spat out a ball of fire—but the flames only reached a few feet before sputtering out, sending panicked civilians running.
Sarada frowned. "Why does he look kind of like Iwabe?"
"Maybe he failed to graduate and wants revenge on the village?" she guessed.
Boruto shook his head. "Him? A kid who's not even a Genin? Even if he suffered a thousand times, he couldn't do it."
Sarada chuckled. "Thousand sides of pain? You're ridiculous."
"Still," she added, her Sharingan glinting faintly, "I sense something strange. His chakra feels off."
Boruto's expression hardened. "Hmph. Then he can taste the pain first."
In a blur, he appeared in front of the boy.
The fat student's eyes widened. "Who—who are you?!"
Boruto looked down coldly. "I am God. Tendo Pain."
"God? Are you kidding me?" the boy scoffed and tried another Fire Release, but Boruto simply waved his sleeve, dispersing the flames with ease.
"If you can't even use a D-rank Ninjutsu properly, don't embarrass yourself here."
[Emotions from Unknown — Progress Bar +11]
"Impossible! My Ninjutsu—!"
Before he could finish, he turned to flee.
"So smart? Running already? I thought you'd at least fight back," Boruto said, instantly appearing in front of him and slapping him across the face.
Smack!
The boy crashed to the ground, his cheek swelling immediately.
[Emotions from Unknown — Progress Bar +27]
"Don't come over here!" he screamed. "Please, don't come over here!"
Boruto ignored his cries, stepping closer with each word.
"Ridiculous. Feel the pain. Think about the pain. Accept the pain. Know the pain."
Each step echoed with intensity as the boy trembled and curled up on the ground.
Boruto crouched down, grabbed his collar, and—
Slap! Slap! Slap!
"Aaaahhhh!"
His screams echoed through the street until his face was swollen like a pig's head.
Sarada finally stepped forward. "Boruto, that's enough. You taught him his lesson."
The boy sobbed. "S-sorry!"
The crowd that had gathered began to clap and cheer for Boruto's bravery, their emotions feeding into the progress bar.
But Boruto barely noticed. He frowned. "Weird… that strange chakra just vanished. Did I imagine it?"
"Pain?" a calm voice interrupted.
Boruto turned to see Sai arriving with three Anbu operatives.
When they saw Pain holding the beaten student, they were stunned.
[Emotions from Yamanaka Sai — Progress Bar +332]
"Perfect timing," Boruto muttered.
He tossed the unconscious boy onto the ground and raised his hand toward Sai and the Anbu. The three operatives instantly drew their swords, ready for battle.
"Wait! That's Boruto!" Sarada shouted. "He's not an enemy!"
"Boruto?" Sai blinked, looking closer.
Boruto smirked. "Long time no see, Uncle Sai."
Releasing the Transformation Jutsu, he returned to his usual self.
Sai exhaled, but frowned. "Boruto… that kind of joke isn't funny."
The Anbu sheathed their swords, and the tension slowly faded.