The Naruto Office.
Afternoon sunlight poured in through the windows, pooling in a warm corner of the room. The glow of the setting sun painted the clouds outside a burning red, like embers smoldering on the horizon.
Stacks of paperwork towered over Naruto's desk. He was buried in thought when he suddenly felt Kurama's chakra surge with anger.
"What's wrong, Kurama?" he asked.
"What are you hesitating for?" Kurama's voice rumbled through his mind, low and tense. "The shinobi world is already in danger. Those 'Moon' members you mentioned… they've started targeting the Tailed Beasts."
In Kurama's eyes burned a rage Naruto hadn't seen in years—like when it had first been caged, when it had known nothing but hatred.
"Chōmei, the Seven-Tails… has lost contact."
"What?!"
Naruto jolted to his feet, instinctively moving to jump out the window, but Kurama stopped him sharply.
"Don't waste your energy. The enemy used a special barrier to block everything. They've hidden the Seven-Tails' location as well. We can't track it," Kurama said, forcing calm into his tone.
Naruto slowly sat back down, pressing his fingers against his temples to ease the pressure building in his head.
Boruto arrived at the office soon after. Now that he carried half of Kurama's chakra, he naturally felt the disturbance as well… even though he was the one who'd orchestrated it all. (Heh.)
When he stepped inside, he saw Naruto slumped in his chair, brow furrowed, staring blankly at the mess of documents.
Seeing Boruto, Naruto let out a long breath and said in a tired voice, "I feel more and more useless lately. Everything I swore to protect… is slipping away."
The disappearance of the Seven-Tails had clearly hit him hard.
"Right now, we should focus on minimizing the damage," Boruto said. "The Seven-Tails is probably just the beginning. Don't forget—there are still six Tailed Beasts roaming free."
"You're right… That's what I should be thinking about," Naruto muttered.
"Gathering them all together is basically putting them back in a cage," Boruto went on, lightly touching his stomach where a familiar sealing pattern lay. "And Tailed Beasts who tasted freedom won't accept that easily."
Incidentally, Boruto had drawn that Eight Trigrams seal himself.
A thread of Kurama's chakra leaked out, its emotions brushing faintly against Boruto's senses. Kurama didn't agree outright, but it didn't object either.
Some Tailed Beasts would end up sitting out the frontlines no matter what. As long as it wasn't his problem… (Heh.)
"Let's call the nine-tailed beasts together first," Naruto said. Sharing a mind and chakra link with Kurama, he had Boruto raise his fist for a bump.
Their fists met—
And the world shifted.
…
In the shared mental space, the Tailed Beasts gathered.
All except the Seven-Tails stood in a wide circle, their colossal forms looming around the center like mountains. Only two tiny human figures stood in the middle of them all.
The seven-tailed beasts studied the boy next to Naruto. He resembled him so clearly that it didn't take much guessing.
Boruto spoke first. "Let me introduce myself. Uzumaki Boruto."
The Tailed Beasts found it amusing—Naruto's son, standing before them like this. But the situation wasn't one they could laugh off. Someone was hunting Tailed Beasts again. Their brief era of peace was clearly ending.
"This is a serious matter," someone might have said.
Boruto, however, continued calmly, "I'm also one of the current Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
Several gazes drifted toward Kurama.
They were met with a sharp glare, pupils narrowing as if to say: Mind your own business.
"Alright," Kurama said, breaking the tension. "The father and son are here to help us figure this out."
"There are two options," Boruto said. "First: we hide you all inside a space–time barrier. If the 'Moon' group can't find you, they can't touch you."
"Second option: you gather on your own. If six Tailed Beasts stand together, even Moon will have a hard time dealing with you head-on."
Naruto listened and agreed with both, then added, "The choice is yours."
The Tailed Beasts exchanged glances. Doubt and hesitation flickered between them. But in the end…
They chose freedom.
For them, leaving the cage once meant they never wanted to go back. A bird that's escaped its prison will never willingly step inside again. That is what freedom is to it—its entire life's longing.
"Up to you," Boruto said. "We've shown our sincerity. I hope you're prepared to accept whatever comes with that choice."
The Tailed Beasts thought silently: This brat is annoying… but he's clear-headed and decisive, more so than Naruto ever was.
The Six-Tails spoke up. "Then let's move quickly. The sooner we gather, the more power we'll have to fight back."
The others rumbled their agreement.
"Don't rush," Boruto said with a shrug. "You're an important force in this world. If you suddenly gather out of nowhere, every village will notice."
Naruto nodded, backing him up.
"So we wait," Boruto continued. "Until Tou-san informs the Kage and the higher-ups about this. Oh—and if you ever need to contact Shukaku, you can talk to Gaara directly through me."
Seeing how thoroughly Boruto had thought things through, Naruto suddenly felt the weight of age more keenly.
After this meeting, the Tailed Beasts' view of Boruto shifted. They now believed—vaguely but firmly—that he might be someone they could entrust their power to, just as they had once entrusted it to Naruto.
...
Ninja Academy.
On the podium, Shino-sensei wrote on the board with chalk, the sound tapping softly through the room. Below, Boruto and Mitsuki sat side by side.
In the middle of class, Boruto leaned close and whispered, "Let's team up again. It's been a while. Operation: Capture Three-Tails, Isobu."
"But… we'll have to sneak out of the Academy again," Mitsuki murmured back. "And it's not easy to find a stable place for a Tailed Beast to stay."
"I know. I've thought about that," Boruto said, grinning. "But we're going to the Land of Water for the class trip starting tomorrow. Maybe Isobu just happens to be nearby."
Since he hadn't figured out a way to hide what he was doing from Kurama yet, he'd decided to lean into it—and use Mitsuki's strength openly. He also wanted to see just how far Mitsuki had grown with Orochimaru's latest "adjustments."
"Alright," Mitsuki agreed immediately.
"Hehe. I like people who say yes straight away," Boruto said, patting him on the shoulder. That kind of mutual trust was always nice.
On the podium, Shino had already written a big title on the board. He stood silently for a moment, watching Boruto's little exchange. When Boruto finally settled down, Shino let out a faint sigh and spoke:
Tomorrow is the school trip. Thanks to the Seventh Hokage's recent efforts, this year's destination will be the Land of Water."
"YEAH!!" the whole class roared.
Only Mitsuki remained calm, glancing at Boruto from the corner of his eye.
As expected, he thought. You've already planned everything.
"So, as for who takes the role of class trip committee leader…" Shino paused, glancing around the room before settling on Boruto. "I think Boruto is the best choice."
Even the Seventh Hokage and the other Kage had acknowledged this boy. Shino felt that the least he could do was give Boruto a chance to practice leading his peers. Managing a group well… was the first step toward managing a village someday.
After the Five Kage Summit, people all over the shinobi world had been debating one thing:
Why had Boruto been allowed to appear in such a high-profile gathering?
They assumed their own Kage would disapprove of Naruto's blatant favoritism. But to their surprise, not a single Kage objected. In fact, most felt Boruto's presence was completely justified.
Was Naruto's influence really that overwhelming?
Or had their leaders… been "convinced" somehow?
In the end, with the quiet approval of all the Kage, Boruto was now authorized to attend any public event—and had the right to participate in, and even speak at, any high-level meeting.
His weight among the Five Kage was in no way lower than theirs.
And in terms of combat strength… he had already surpassed most of their bodyguards.
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