The Rasengan Boruto (Momoshiki) used to execute Hiruzen wasn't something he whipped up on the spot—it was the one he'd absorbed earlier using Takamimusubinokami while Naruto was teaching Konohamaru.
Takamimusubinokami is the Rinnegan ability of Momoshiki Otsutsuki.
It allows him to absorb Ninjutsu, amplify the output, and fire it back.
By absorbing a standard Rasengan, he could easily return fire with the force of a Massive Rasengan.
However, to keep the noise down, Momoshiki chose to compress it. It remained the size of a baseball, but the density was off the charts.
Like a high-speed meat grinder, the compressed sphere pierced directly through Sarutobi Hiruzen's chest, shredding his heart instantly and dropping the Third Hokage to the grass before his vision even had time to fade to black.
'Job done.'
Momoshiki originally planned to expand the jutsu to disintegrate the body and destroy the evidence.
But his sensitivity to spacetime suddenly pinged him with a warning—he couldn't do that.
It seemed that preserving Hiruzen's corpse would play a crucial role in the future, serving as an important temporal node.
"Hmph." Momoshiki snorted coldly, converting the dissipating Rasengan into a shockwave that yeeted Hiruzen's corpse deep into the forest.
Half an hour later.
When Naruto and Konohamaru returned from "fishing" (slacking off), they saw Boruto standing alone and looked puzzled.
"Hey, where's my grandpa?" Konohamaru asked, putting his hands on his hips.
"He said he had other matters to attend to and left a while ago."
Boruto felt a massive pit in his stomach about lying to Konohamaru, unable to even look him in the eye.
But the two carefree idiots in front of him completely failed to notice Boruto acting sus.
"Busy? Didn't the Third Grandpa step down as Hokage?" Naruto wondered aloud.
"Naruto-niichan, didn't you know? The Fifth Hokage just took office, so my grandpa is still helping handle the paperwork," Konohamaru explained confidentially.
"Oh, right, that makes sense..."
"..."
Seeing that they bought it, Boruto let out a silent sigh of relief.
But internally, he was screaming for Sasuke to come back.
He really didn't know how to handle this mess alone.
...
Wind Country Desert.
After Makoto finished his "Goddess of Fate" story, Temari finally understood his point: Opportunities don't wait for you to stop being stubborn.
Just as she was agonizing over who in the village could handle the logistics of this trade alliance, they passed a settlement and coincidentally caught Gaara in action.
He was dealing with a group of bandits.
And by "dealing with," he used Sand Burial to crush them into paste.
However, despite the brutal combat methods, Gaara did a complete 180 when he turned to reassure the terrified villagers.
His tone became exceptionally gentle.
It felt a bit unpracticed—like he was desperately searching his memory to emulate his uncle Yashamaru.
'Now I understand why he becomes the Kazekage later... this indirectly achieves the perfect balance of Fear and Benevolence.' Makoto couldn't help but smile.
The original Gaara was just a horror movie monster.
But thanks to Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu," he was evolving. To the villagers, he was a savior; to the bandits he was a nightmare.
Honestly, comparing them side-by-side, Naruto in his thirties still isn't as mature as fifteen-year-old Gaara.
"Sister?"
After cleaning up the trash, Gaara spotted Temari and Makoto.
"Let's go back together," Temari offered.
"Wait. If you're not in a hurry, come with me to two places first." Makoto unfolded a map, pointing to a spot.
"We're not in a rush. The quota for today is filled."
Thanks to Gaara's insomnia-fueled crusade, the bandit problem caused by the Fourth Kazekage's death was nearly under control.
The kid was literally working 24/7 to establish his authority.
The three set off.
As they headed toward the destination, Makoto dropped the story about their first stop.
"We are going to unseal a powerful Uchiha clansman from the Warring States period."
Temari looked puzzled. "Powerful? How strong are we talking?"
"Strong enough that Uchiha Madara would go quiet out of respect, and Itachi would probably cry tears of envy."
"Huh?"
"Just joking. But in terms of the Sharingan alone? Her eyes are objectively more broken than both of theirs."
Well, excluding Madara's Rinnegan cheat codes.
Makoto could only say that Mangekyo Sharingan abilities are basically like pulling Gacha cards during a version update—some people get garbage, some people get game-breaking meta units.
Madara's Mangekyo ability? Unknown.
Not even the databooks know.
Itachi had Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. Future Sasuke got Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
So, what abilities did our Uchiha ancestor, Uchiha Hikari, possess?
Eight Thousand Spears.
Think of it as a portable, mini God Tree.
It can absorb chakra from others, store it, and infuse it back into people to amp their power. It's basically a localized version of Momoshiki's ability.
Compared to that, Madara's potentially non-existent Mangekyo ability looks like a joke.
If Black Zetsu hadn't been so obsessed with the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura, and had paid attention to Hikari instead, Kaguya probably would have been unsealed centuries ago.
But wait, there's more!
Hikari was also a lab rat.
The Uchiha clan used [extremely cruel, painful, and forbidden methods] to implant Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu into her eyes.
And because of her native ability to amplify jutsu:
Her Tsukuyomi evolved into Imprinted Tsukuyomi.
She can project it onto the moon (a budget Infinite Tsukuyomi) or use it to brainwash people instantly—kind of like Kotoamatsukami.
It could even freeze someone like Naruto in his tracks.
Her Amaterasu naturally evolved into Kagutsuchi.
Just listing these stats makes her sound like a fan-fiction character.
Why not just give her the Geass from Code Geass while they're at it?
Oh, maybe because she awakened her power too young and never had a boyfriend, so "Eight Thousand Spears" couldn't hide her tears.
Anyway.
Soon, the group arrived at the border of the River Country—that small, unfortunate state sandwiched between Wind and Fire country.
It was remote enough that nobody had found the seal in all these years.
Following Hiruzen's scroll, Makoto located the spot.
"Wait."
Before Makoto could start the unsealing ritual, Temari suddenly stepped in.
"What's wrong?"
"Have you actually thought this through? Will this person even obey you? What if she wakes up and decides to kill us all immediately?"
Temari was being the pragmatic one, as usual.
"I've thought about that. And I do have a method to handle it, but..." Makoto sighed heavily.
"But what?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a bit... hard to say out loud. I can't bring myself to do it."
"..."
Temari looked at him with a mix of confusion and suspicion.
Her expression said it all: 'You? Such a shameless guy like you who ask for granny chiyo nudes? You're too embarrassed to do something?'