The Land of Water.
Wearing a loose T-shirt, Boruto walked leisurely through the streets of Kirigakure, confidence written all over his face. Beside him was Sarada, while his hands were full of food.
Grilled squid, takoyaki, shrimp, oysters—just as he had said, he was indulging without restraint.
Sarada followed behind him in a daze. At some point, Boruto had accumulated an entire bag of snacks, buying anything that caught his eye and eating as he went. Something about the scene felt off, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
So she simply wandered the streets aimlessly with Code.
Before long, they ran into another familiar pair also out shopping.
Since the school trip was coming to an end, Boruto was clearly in high spirits, strolling alongside Sumire Kakei.
Although they weren't openly holding hands, Boruto was carrying several neatly packed gift boxes—most of them clearly women's clothing.
Sumire walked beside him quietly. Because Boruto was busy, she bought double portions of food.
Then Sarada witnessed a scene she absolutely did not want to see.
Sumire gently lifted a takoyaki, had Boruto open his mouth, and fed it to him. Afterward, she even used her fingers to carefully wipe the crumbs from the corner of his lips.
They looked exactly like a sweet, affectionate young couple.
"Damn it… this is way too unfair!" Sarada stomped her foot in frustration. "Why do I have to suffer this kind of injustice?!"
Watching Boruto's completely oblivious expression, an uncontrollable urge surged within her.
She wanted to kick him.
And she did.
Knowing that Code was currently in a phantom-like illusion state, Sarada took a running start and charged forward.
Then—
Bang!
The two collided head-on and crashed to the ground.
Boruto, who witnessed the entire scene from a distance, couldn't help but twitch his lips.
What were those two idiots doing…?
Sumire noticed Boruto's strange expression and asked softly, "What's wrong, Boruto? Are you tired? Should we rest for a bit?"
"Ahem… let's sit by that open fountain for a while," Boruto suggested.
"Okay."
Sumire led Boruto away from the area.
On the ground, Code—who had just been knocked down by Sarada—fell into deep thought.
"You've been getting bolder lately, haven't you?" he said calmly.
"Shouldn't you be the one getting lazier?" Sarada shot back.
"You're really something. Your strength hasn't improved much, but your courage and body weight sure have," Code said flatly, launching into merciless criticism.
"Get out of my way!!"
"Tch."
Sarada slowly stood up.
"Did Boruto just see us?" she asked suspiciously. "Or was that my imagination?"
After all, she was within Code's illusion barrier. Anyone entering its range would unknowingly fall into a high-level illusion.
Code stood up as well, then spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.
Sarada assumed it was just saliva. Along the way, she had seen Boruto act far more rudely—if she could beat him, she would have already made him lick the ground.
"Ahem. Anyway, show some respect," Code said stiffly. "If I hadn't been so focused on enjoying the food, I wouldn't have bothered dealing with you."
He tried to sound threatening.
Sarada scoffed. "I'm immortal. What can you even do to me?"
"I'll teach you a lesson."
Before Sarada could react, Code flicked her forehead.
Thump!
Sarada flew more than ten meters and crashed straight into the fountain pool not far from Boruto.
Naturally, within the illusion barrier, passersby noticed nothing unusual—only that the fountain's spray suddenly seemed stronger than usual.
Code pressed a hand to his chest. He couldn't hold it in any longer and vomited several mouthfuls of blood.
At that moment, Boruto instantly left the bench by the fountain. A misty green glow enveloped his palm as he activated the Palm Healing Technique.
After some time passed—
Sarada climbed out of the fountain in a daze, soaked from head to toe.
Boruto had already returned to his original spot.
Sarada walked toward him with a dark expression.
"Are you okay?" Code asked first.
"What do you think?" Sarada snapped, rubbing her forehead, which was already covered in swollen red bumps.
"I'm fine. I'm immortal. I won't die," Code replied calmly.
"I won't die either—but it hurts like hell!!" Sarada yelled.
"Alright. Since you finally have a 'vacation,' why not enjoy it?" Code bent down and picked up the items that had fallen to the ground.
"Heh." Sarada followed him, somewhat amused. It was clearly him slacking off, yet he called it a vacation so grandly.
Boruto watched the two figures disappear into the crowd and silently commented that they actually seemed to get along well.
It was just a pity that it wouldn't last.
Sumire's hand froze midair, still holding a skewer of grilled meat. She glanced toward Code's direction, eyes filled with concern.
The amount of blood just now was… excessive.
"He's going to die, isn't he?" she asked quietly.
"Maybe," Boruto replied. "Or maybe the outcome will change. Who knows?"
…
Just as Boruto was about to continue shopping with Sumire, his Jōgan activated involuntarily.
He suddenly looked toward the sky in a certain direction.
Two figures—one plump, one petite—descended from above, exactly like villains stepping out of a broadcast.
Boro and Delta.
They probably never imagined that Boruto would already be their target the moment they appeared.
Their goal was clear.
They headed straight toward the Mizukage Building, the symbolic heart of Kirigakure.
"Alright, let's not worry about them for now," Boruto said casually. "Let's keep shopping. This kind of chance doesn't come often."
He quickly sent the gift boxes back to the inn using the Flying Thunder God Technique, then took Sumire's hand and drew a little closer to her—intentionally or not.
Sumire seemed long accustomed to Boruto's sudden hand-holding. She didn't resist at all.
High above the city—
Boro and Delta appeared confidently, planning to launch a surprise attack on the Mizukage Building to force the Mizukage and Boruto to reveal themselves.
"I heard that although the previous Mizukage has stepped down, she's still active behind the scenes," Boro said calmly.
"That means we'll be facing at least three Kage-level opponents. Let's assume Boruto is at that level too."
Delta snorted. "Kage-level? Relics that should've been wiped out by history. They're nothing."
"That jinchūriki is the troublesome one," she continued. "But jinchūriki are usually unstable. We should be able to deal with him."
Considering the importance of the mission, Boruto was likely the key to finding the Moon faction's headquarters. Even Delta, as reckless as she was, had to be cautious.
"I'll go to the city center first and release my Dark Mist to draw out the Mizukage," Boro said. "Then we'll deal with them one by one."
"It's a bit excessive," Delta replied, "but since this is Lord Jigen's mission, we should be careful."
Boro scoffed inwardly.
He could tell—Delta lacked confidence when it came to suppressing a jinchūriki.
In the end, without saying anything more, Boro took the initiative.
"I'll move first."
He leaped onto a tall building. Black smoke began to seep from his body, drifting with the cool wind and spreading toward the bustling market below.
The area it would cover was terrifyingly vast.
But this wasn't Boro's first time.
Under normal circumstances, he would release the black mist, then distribute a special antidote to the infected, playing the role of a savior.
A simple trick.
One meant to fool the ignorant.
Delta watched with utter disdain. If not for her caution toward the jinchūriki's power, the Mizukage Building would already have been reduced to rubble.
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