5th Sage Mode
A short while later.
The White Snake Sage frowned, the surprise in her eyes only deepening. Boruto's body, like a bottomless pit, continued to draw in her Sage power at a terrifying pace.
This was the purest immortal energy she had refined over a thousand years of cultivation—its quality far surpassed ordinary chakra.
"Isn't he going to tear himself apart?" Tagorihime asked worriedly.
"It'd be better if a greedy human like that just died," Ichikishima-hime snapped.
"But Grandma seems to value this human too much. Her treatment of him is far too generous," Murezukihime muttered.
The three sisters fell silent, staring at Boruto in stunned disbelief. The Sage power he'd already received was far greater than what any challenger had ever taken in over the past thousand years.
Even as she continued pouring power into him, the White Snake Sage couldn't help but exclaim, "I've already lost about a tenth of my power—and still I haven't hit your limit?"
Boruto didn't answer. He remained calm, silently guiding the divine energy into every corner of his body, filling every gap.
To perfectly fill the emptiness inside himself.
His body was already close to a pseudo–Six Paths vessel, and this power now felt less like a simple blessing and more like it was breaking his shackles—smashing the boundary of human limitation itself.
One-tenth of the White Snake Sage's power was roughly equal to a hundred years of Sage cultivation—far beyond tailed beast chakra: pure, refined, overwhelming.
It proved that his ceiling wasn't just "jinchūriki."
…Another quarter of an hour passed.
The White Snake Sage's already frail body had become even thinner; losing that much Sage power had clearly damaged her very essence.
At that point, Boruto knew it was enough and stopped absorbing.
The White Snake Sage slumped back onto her throne, eyes closed, as the surrounding natural energy rushed into her body at an alarming speed to replenish what she'd lost.
"This human actually made Grandma this exhausted… unforgivable," Ichikishima-hime said through clenched teeth, her eyes reddening.
Boruto still stood motionless, like a statue.
"He definitely can't handle that kind of immortal energy. Once he turns into a snake, he'll become our food," Murezukihime hissed, revealing her true nature. Her gaze on Boruto was vicious, filled with killing intent—and a faint, hungry anticipation.
Boruto simply lifted his hand and formed a simple hand seal.
"Dragon's Roar — Sage Mode."
Boom—!!
The eruption was like muffled thunder; within the torrent of chakra, a low, ancient dragon's roar echoed.
In an instant, he had reached—and surpassed—the goal they hadn't managed even after hundreds of years: the transformation toward a dragon.
Golden chakra exploded outward, unleashing a crushing pressure as a dragon's phantom slowly appeared above.
Boruto stood firm beneath the dragon's shadow, wrapped in a Sage chakra cloak. A golden aura flowed around him.
Nine azure-gold-white dragon phantoms coiled around his body, and nine pairs of vertical pupils silently watched the hall.
The oppressive force was overwhelming, as if the sky had flipped over and the entire world was pressing down on them.
This was a presence that ruled everything.
And yet, the White Snake Sage, sitting weakly not far away, seemed completely unfazed. She calmly picked up her pipe, took a long drag, then exhaled a thin stream of smoke and chuckled.
"You've destroyed my shabby old temple."
The original temple had been reduced to rubble; the broken structures were scattered and shoved a full hundred meters away from Boruto.
The three sisters couldn't withstand the pressure. They had been forced back dozens of meters, carving three deep trenches in the ground as they skidded away. Even when they tried to brace themselves, the sheer force still pushed them back.
This alone showed how absolutely domineering Boruto's power was.
"Why, human—why is the Sage power you received so strong?!" The three sisters were still trembling, fear written all over their faces.
In just a few moments, he had surpassed centuries of their bitter training. Was this what people called "talent"? An insurmountable gap?
"No," the White Snake Sage said as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. "He simply broke his own limits… or perhaps it's because he's human—a race that can always create miracles."
"Why, Mother-in-law? I don't understand," Ichikishima-hime said, resentment twisting her expression.
The other two wore the same hurt, conflicted faces.
"Perhaps it's precisely because humans are such a lowly race that they're only fit to be food," the White Snake Sage continued, pipe between her teeth.
"???" The three sisters were completely lost.
"It's exactly because humans are so fragile that the barriers limiting their potential are easier to break. That's why they can rise so quickly."
The Sage of Six Paths may have helped shape that, but humanity itself shouldn't be underestimated.
They learned through war. They kept evolving and discovering. With imagination and their own hands, they created the shinobi world you see today.
The three sisters didn't really understand any of it—but they were deeply shaken.
Boruto: I had no idea humans were that amazing.
"In short, Boruto's current performance has broken past the limits of humanity. He's now a true demigod," the White Snake Sage said, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"Hm… this strength is great, but it won't last long," Boruto replied calmly.
Her evaluation of him quietly rose several levels. Even while wielding such power, he could still maintain his original heart, unshaken by glory or power. That kind of composure was rare.
"So, human, do you want to test that power?" the White Snake Sage asked, watching him closely.
Boruto nodded. One of the nine azure-gold-white dragons coiling around him dipped its head to the ground, pouring a vast amount of chakra into it.
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation."
Using the same technique as before, the white dragon's chakra reassembled the surrounding ruins, rebuilding the temple at blinding speed.
As expected… it really does carry Yin–Yang Release properties, Boruto thought.
Inside him, the Nine-Tails stared at one of the coiling azure-gold-white dragons with wide eyes. This thing was about the same size as him—but the chakra it gave off was thicker, denser, more terrifying.
—Sage Chakra Compression.
It was another kind of chakra-refining method, extracting ultra-pure Sage power. Not that he even needed to refine it this time—it had been directly infused by the White Snake Sage.
Even if Boruto later left this Sage mode, he'd be able to refine and preserve such pure chakra himself—turning Sage Chakra into a different kind of "tailed beast."
All it lacked was life and a soul.
The White Snake Sage nodded repeatedly, genuinely impressed. The boy's talent and comprehension were unbelievable.
Just by watching once, he'd replicated the method of purifying immortal power—far outperforming her three most trusted attendants.
"Thank you, Grandma Sage," Boruto said, bowing deeply.
"Haha, that 'Grandma' sounds a lot more affectionate now than before," the White Snake Sage laughed, half-mocking, half-pleased.
"Hehe." Boruto scratched his cheek and smiled.
"Alright then, brat. Go out and spread the word of Ryūchi Cave's power, and I'll do you another big favor," the White Snake Sage said mysteriously.
"??" Boruto tilted his head.
"You really don't know anything about the Tenseigan right now, do you?"
Boruto's expression changed at once, and he quickly said, "Please tell me, Grandma."
Ever since Toneri told him there was another Tenseigan somewhere in the shinobi world, Boruto had kept that in mind. But his left eye had never sensed it.
The world was vast. If no one knew where it was, then for all practical purposes, it didn't exist.
The three sisters were already numb with shock. They hadn't expected their Grandma to value this human to such a degree—even offering him active help. They couldn't help feeling bitter and wronged.
We're your most capable assistants…
"The Hyūga are your clan, right?" the White Snake Sage asked casually. "And the Tenseigan is supposedly a superior evolution of the Byakugan. So only those of the Hyūga lineage can awaken it."
Boruto blinked. "That's true. But based on the talent the Hyūga have shown so far, awakening that eye would be nearly impossible."
Even he had only obtained his through sheer luck.
"Ōtsutsuki Toneri, a descendant of Hamura, is a member of the clan that lives on the moon," the White Snake Sage continued. "He possesses the golden Tenseigan, which he gained by sacrificing countless Byakugan from his kin."
As she spoke, Boruto nodded along.
"The Heavenly Clan once descended on the shinobi world with that same eye—that eye of destruction. You know that much, don't you?" she asked.
"Yeah," Boruto said. "I saw it on TV."
"Then how do you think the shinobi world, at that time's level of strength, resisted the Heavenly Clan's brutal invasion?"
Was it the power of Hashirama, the God of Shinobi? Or Uchiha Madara?
Boruto fell into deep thought, while the White Snake Sage waited quietly, unmoving.
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