Inside the small house.
The youngsters huddled in a corner, discussing animatedly.
"To be able to tear open a spatial rift with a casual wave of his hand, does your Little Dad have to be that monstrous?" Sarada whispered.
"Sasuke-san also made a similar comment back then," Boruto said, crossing his arms, affecting a mature posture.
"Dad has met him?" Sarada asked.
"..." Boruto fell silent.
On the other side, Naruto and Shikamaru sat facing each other.
"Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-san, please have some tea." Hinata placed a cup of tea before each of them. She sat quietly to the side, listening to their conversation, her face etched with worry. Her husband had met with an accident, and she was powerless to help; this feeling was truly unbearable...
"So, you're saying you have no way to determine which alternate dimension Otsutsuki Isshiki has taken... 'Lord Seventh Hokage' to?" Naruto asked, his right hand lightly supporting his chin, a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"No way. Sasuke, who has space-time abilities, is in a coma." Shikamaru couldn't help but rub his temples. "But Sakura is already treating him."
"Take me to see him," Naruto said, standing up.
"Oh, right! You possess Yang Release. Perhaps you can help Sasuke wake up faster," Shikamaru suddenly remembered, recalling how Naruto had healed his own injuries.
"Your reaction time has slowed."
"Sigh, I'm getting old..." Shikamaru patted his own head.
Just then, a cry of surprise came from the group of youngsters. The three adults turned their gazes towards them.
"The Seventh is still alive!" Kawaki exclaimed, looking at his mechanical right arm, the grimness on his face easing slightly.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked, turning his head to Shikamaru.
"His prosthetic limb is powered by Naru... the Seventh Hokage's chakra," Shikamaru explained.
Kawaki clenched his right fist. At this moment, he could clearly feel the connection to the Seventh Hokage's chakra. "Boruto, let's go save the Seventh together!" he said in a deep voice.
"Huh?"
"Using our Karma! Jigen was able to open a space-time passage to Konoha through my Karma. We should also be able to reach his alternate dimension through our Karma!"
Boruto was stunned for a moment, then, his expression resolute, he offered his right hand to Kawaki.
"Hinata, what's with Boruto's personality?" Watching this rather chuunibyou scene unfold, Naruto felt his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. What kind of strength does the enemy possess, and what kind of strength do they have? Don't these little brats have any self-awareness?
"...It's probably inherited from his father," Hinata said, gently touching her forehead.
Inherited?! Naruto silently covered his face. How embarrassing...
Vwom!
Boruto and Kawaki both activated their Karma. Through resonance, they actually managed to open a passage to the alternate dimension where the Seventh Hokage was, using that faint chakra connection.
It actually worked...
"Let's go!" Kawaki's expression was intense. He was about to leap into the spatial passage, and the other youngsters were also poised to follow.
"Stop!" The shadow beneath Shikamaru suddenly shot out, immobilizing the youngsters with the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu. "Can you all please stop causing trouble?! The enemy is strong enough to defeat both Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously! To rescue Naruto from such a terrifying foe, ask yourselves, are you qualified?"
"..." The youngsters fell silent.
"To just sit here and wait, sorry, I can't do that!" A dark red glow emanated from the Karma on Kawaki's arm. The Shadow Paralysis Jutsu was directly absorbed into his palm, and the youngsters instantly broke free. He leaped and disappeared into the passage, Boruto and the others following close behind.
"Boruto!" Hinata's face paled. Her husband had already met with an accident; if her son also...
"Should I call this hot-blooded? Or just acting without thinking?" Naruto sighed helplessly, then turned to look at Himawari, who was peeking out timidly. "Little cutie, don't learn from them; you'll end up ruined."
"Don't worry, I'll bring them back safely," Naruto reassured Hinata. A windless breeze stirred around him, his hair floating. Activating Yomotsu Hirasaka through his tomoe Rinnegan, a space-time passage appeared before him. The moment Boruto and Kawaki had opened their passage, he had simultaneously locked onto the coordinates of that alternate dimension.
"Do you need ANBU support?" Shikamaru asked.
"No need. Bringing ANBU along would just distract me during the fight." Naruto stepped into the spatial passage.
Hinata leaned weakly against her chair. Himawari, seeing this, went over and hugged her. "Mom, it'll be alright..."
A bizarrely purple sky, an endless expanse of shattered rock. This was the youngsters' first impression of this alternate dimension.
"Well, well, someone actually came."
The group looked towards the source of the voice. On a high rock, a broadly built man in a black robe was leaning against a black sphere, observing them with keen interest.
"Boro?!" Recognizing his face, Kawaki's expression changed.
"You know him?" Boruto asked, turning his head.
"He's like Delta, one of the Inner Circle members of Kara. Very strong," Kawaki said through gritted teeth.
"So, to save Dad, we have to defeat him, right?" Boruto cracked his knuckles, full of fighting spirit.
Whoosh!
While the two were talking, Boro snatched up the black sphere beside him and hurled it towards the group. Knowing that the Seventh Hokage was sealed inside the black sphere, none of them dared to use ninjutsu against it.
"Dad!" Boruto cried out nervously, looking at the black sphere.
While the youngsters' attention was focused on the black sphere, Boro quietly hid himself.
"Look out!" Mitsuki warned.
A highly corrosive acid suddenly erupted from beneath their feet. Kawaki shielded the others, raised his left hand, and the Karma on his palm absorbed all the acid.
"Has Otsutsuki Isshiki left?" In the distance, Naruto sensed the surrounding chakra reactions. Confirming that only the few chakra sources currently engaged in battle were nearby, he slowly opened his eyes. Although he didn't know why Isshiki hadn't directly killed the Seventh Hokage but had chosen to seal him instead, the current enemy's strength was advantageous for him.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
The piercing sound of a thousand birds!
Naruto glanced over and saw Uchiha Sarada, wielding Chidori, carving a trench in the ground. With the coordination of the others, she fiercely thrust it into Boro's body.
"Sharingan paired with Chidori, at this age... Truly Sasuke's daughter," Naruto mused with a hint of admiration. "But unfortunately, your opponent is not human..."
His figure vanished from his spot. If he didn't intervene now, the youngsters were going to be in trouble. He had just made a promise.
Before the youngsters could even breathe a sigh of relief, the penetrating wound on their opponent's abdomen began to heal at a visible rate. Unbeknownst to them, a black mist had gradually begun to fill the air.
ROAR!
Boro let out a roar, his figure growing at a visible rate. His hair and beard grew wildly, and his feet transformed into six greasy tentacles.
Under the onslaught of the rampaging Boro, the youngsters could only desperately dodge. They inevitably inhaled some of the black mist, their limbs gradually weakening, their chakra flow becoming stagnant.
Whoosh!
Gazing at the fist, almost half the size of her own body, hurtling towards her, Sarada struggled to cross her arms in front of her to block.
"Has Boruto ever confessed his feelings to you?" On the verge of death, for some unknown reason, the question Little Dad had asked earlier flashed through Sarada's mind.
"You dare hit my daughter-in-law? Haven't you died enough times?" A voice reached her ears. Sarada's eyes snapped wide open. Boruto's Little Dad had suddenly appeared in front of her. He raised his palm lightly, and a terrifying force swept out.
Boro's massive body, like a rubber ball, tumbled wildly backward.