Boruto began practicing Gentle Fist, imitating the techniques Hinata had demonstrated. The more he practiced, the more something felt off; it was as if a voice deep inside him was telling him he was doing it wrong and needed to approach it differently. After a moment of thought, Boruto began practicing Gentle Fist purely by intuition.
Hinata watched him carefully and noticed that Boruto moved like someone who had been training for years. His motions were smooth and natural, completely devoid of awkwardness. Just as she was about to praise him, she realized that his fighting style was starting to change.
"What kind of Gentle Fist is this?" Hinata asked in surprise, realizing she had never seen techniques like these before.
Boruto, however, did not stop. The more he practiced, the more he felt his body changing, as if becoming transparent.
"Hey, brat, stop right there," Momoshiki's voice suddenly echoed in Boruto's mind, interrupting his thoughts.
"Momoshiki, what just happened to me?" Boruto asked, confused, as he felt himself losing consciousness briefly.
"If you keep practicing, you might become assimilated by the world itself," Momoshiki said.
"What do you mean?" Boruto asked, having no concept of what "assimilated by the world" meant.
"In simple terms, you would merge completely with this planet, losing your sense of self," Momoshiki said, his tone tinged with exasperation. "You are truly strange. A mortal resonating with a planet? In all my years, I've never seen something so absurd."
"Ah! That's dangerous! You scared me! If you hadn't woken me up, Momoshiki, I'd be done for," Boruto exclaimed, shaken by the warning.
"Hmm, this can also be seen as an opportunity. You can use it to develop even more powerful techniques. A technique like this should be called 'Heaven's Punishment,'" Momoshiki mused.
"So what should I do now? Should I keep practicing Gentle Fist or focus on this? Both seem risky. Maybe I shouldn't train at all," Boruto said, still uneasy.
"I want to see what other miracles your body holds, but for now… let's see if I can prevent this assimilation. You still need to practice Gentle Fist. Once you master the 128 Palm technique, you can stop," Momoshiki decided.
"1…128 Palm! How long do I have to train? In my mother's generation, only Uncle Neji mastered this move, and he passed away long ago. If I want to learn it, does that mean I have to wait forever? By the way, what does 'forever' even mean?" Boruto grumbled at Momoshiki's instructions.
"Like it or not, you have to practice! Now get out. Your mother is waiting for you," Momoshiki said, cutting him off and sending him out of the spiritual realm before Boruto could protest.
"Has this boy already passively absorbed some of my knowledge? That's not good. I need to control him before he gets out of hand," Momoshiki thought as Boruto left the spiritual space.
"Forget it, we'll deal with the assimilation issue later. I haven't had enough fun with this little brat yet," Momoshiki said, putting aside those troublesome thoughts.
When Momoshiki drifted into his contemplation, Boruto had already regained consciousness and found himself back in the real world.
"Boruto! Are you okay?" Hinata asked as she leaned over him. Boruto opened his eyes and saw Hinata beside him, unaware of when he had ended up lying on his bed.
Boruto sat up, and Hinata helped steady him. Once seated, he checked his body and discovered that his physical constitution had doubled, and his chakra had tripled. The result left him completely stunned. Hinata, noticing his astonishment, asked with concern, "Boruto, how do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"I'm fine. I've never felt so refreshed in my life. It's like I've been reborn," Boruto blurted out, leaving Hinata momentarily speechless.