Boruto was thrown unceremoniously into the gaping mouth of the Gedo Mazou, instantly surrounded by complete, suffocating darkness.
"Did I... lose?"
"No."
"How the hell could I ever admit to something like that?"
What is this? Could it be his inner voice speaking to him?
Was this his unwilling struggle, born from the desperate desire not to leave Himawari and his friends behind?
That's right!
Momoshiki said he used half of his Karma to save him.
Half of his body had already become pure Otsutsuki, so logically, he should be able to use Momoshiki's abilities too!
And now that Momoshiki's consciousness had been stripped away by the enemy, that bastard wouldn't be able to interfere with him at all!
Perfect!
Boruto suddenly opened his eyes in the pitch-black void.
Using his half-Otsutsuki bloodline, he sensed a massive, terrifying amount of Chakra swirling below him.
The unsealing of the Karma didn't just bring raw abilities and bloodline changes—it brought memories too.
The Otsutsuki Clan's ancient alchemy techniques surfaced in Boruto's mind.
He raised his hand, ready to refine the massive Chakra within the Gedo mazou into a pill, reverse the situation, break out of this prison, and defeat Makoto who was trying to destroy his future!
A few seconds later, Boruto felt incredibly light, as if he were floating on air—a sensation he'd never experienced before.
'Huh? Something seemed off.'
Boruto realized with a sinking dread that the voice earlier... that wasn't his inner monologue at all!
It was actually Makoto, standing outside after throwing him into the statue's mouth, idly reciting some strange cliché anime lines out of sheer boredom.
What came after was the brutal reality of him being chewed up and digested by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Everything that followed was just his life flashing before his eyes.
The so-called lightness was simply because he was already dead, and his soul was ascending to heaven.
"I hate people who try to power up at the last minute. You didn't actually think you could turn things around in a desperate situation with the 'power of friendship' or some bullshit, did you?" Makoto calmly dropped this snarky remark to the empty air.
Boruto's soul couldn't even return to the Pure Land.
Even though Boruto acted as the "anchor" of that future world and possessed the strongest resistance to spacetime displacement, without his physical body to support him, his soul was quickly erased and dissipated into nothingness.
This phenomenon was clearly visible to Tobirama Senju and Orochimaru waiting below.
Especially the Second Hokage—he had started forming hand seals the moment Makoto took off, eagerly trying to see if he could capture Boruto's soul for his forbidden research.
Souls were already intangible compared to physical bodies; trying to touch one with a physical form would usually result in passing right through.
Unexpectedly, Boruto's soul was even more ethereal and fragile now.
Even when using the Spirit Transformation Technique, it was just like a physical body attempting to grab smoke—his hands passed right through.
Then, the soul simply dissipated.
To be precise, it was erased from existence. (Yay!)
Because with the death of Boruto serving as the anchor, the existence of the adult Sasuke who came with him also entered its final countdown.
Sasuke's body began to fade, turning transparent like a ghost.
"Goodbye... no... farewell, everyone."
At the moment of departure, Sasuke didn't say much more.
With a cool wave of his single hand, his cloak fluttered dramatically in the wind as he turned away.
"Oh, right, Orochimaru. I won't be returning the Kusanagi Sword to you. Consider it a souvenir."
As Sasuke's cloak billowed, the Kusanagi Sword at his waist was revealed one last time.
The next moment, Sasuke drifted away with the wind.
He left nothing behind.
Except, of course, for that Rinnegan disc that Makoto had the foresight to extract in advance.
"It seems Sasuke-kun is quite satisfied with the current situation, leaving without any attachment or regret." Orochimaru let out a complicated sigh.
He really hadn't expected Sasuke's last words to be directed at him.
This left Orochimaru feeling somewhat flattered... in a weird, twisted way.
Orochimaru knew that all three members of Sasuke's original Team 7 had inherited the legacies of the Three Legendary Sannin.
However, from Makoto's description, he could clearly understand the dynamic: while Tsunade and Jiraiya had found disciples to pass the torch to, he had essentially found himself a 'father' figure.
There had never been much respect in their conversations.
"Orochimaru, since both Sasuke and the strategist hold you in such high regard, it implies you've turned over a new leaf in the future. I hope you'll conduct yourself properly. Otherwise..." Itachi issued a warning while Orochimaru was lost in thought.
Whenever Orochimaru pondered things silently, Itachi instinctively suspected the snake was brewing some mischief or war crimes.
But these words... he wasn't even pretending to be subtle anymore, was he?
And "turned over a new leaf" at that?
It sounded ridiculous coming from Itachi's mouth regarding Orochimaru!
"Itachi, you're overthinking. I was simply considering that although Sasuke-kun left without attachment, he must have had other things he cared about..." Orochimaru shook his head, his expression turning serious.
"Things he cared about? You mean Uzumaki Naruto?" Itachi frowned.
"No, Naruto belongs to this world's existence, so he doesn't count as an 'additional concern' for the future Sasuke." Makoto descended from the air, landing softly.
"I think what Orochimaru means is probably Sasuke's daughter. If there's anyone else he gave a damn about, she would barely qualify."
"So Sasuke from the future world had a daughter? But what do you mean by 'barely qualified'?" Itachi was quite puzzled by the phrasing.
"Because Sasuke passed by his own home three times without entering, to the point where he didn't even know what his own daughter looked like. When they met for the first time years later, he almost stabbed her, mistaking her for an enemy. Yakushi Kabuto and Yakushi Nono only ended up in a tragic situation due to Danzo's manipulation and schemes. But Sasuke? That was pure, unadulterated natural development. He was just a deadbeat dad on his own merit."
'I never imagined Mikoto's son would be so neglectful of family in the future. I hope Naruto doesn't turn out like that.' Kushina, listening nearby, thought to herself silently.
That's right, Kushina had naturally come along for the ride too.
However, regarding contact with Naruto, she felt a heavy anxiety—something similar to "apprehension when approaching home."
Moreover, the previous atmosphere really wasn't suitable for her to engage in casual small talk here.
The Third Hokage needed to take Naruto away first to keep him in the dark.
That's why she had remained silent all along.
She even deliberately avoided looking in Naruto's direction as much as possible to prevent being noticed by him.
As for why Kushina showed no concern for Boruto, who was Naruto's son and theoretically her grandson?
Actually, during their journey from the Land of Wind to the Land of Fire, and while waiting for Urashiki to appear, certain things had already become crystal clear to her.
If possible, Kushina had fantasized about someone crossing time and space to descend like divine cavalry to save her and Minato during the Nine-Tailed Night.
What did changing the future matter?
If they could avoid death, who the hell would choose to die?
If dying was strictly for a better future, then sacrifice might be acceptable.
But Boruto was fighting for a shitty future that would inevitably be invaded by the Otsutsuki Clan anyway.
For the sake of this rotten apple of a future, Boruto had already killed the Third Hokage and his son, and was preparing to target Jiraiya next.
According to Boruto's twisted logic, in the world now altered by Makoto, most people who were supposed to die in the original timeline would need to be actively eliminated by him.
That meant all Konoha rookies who died by the Ten-Tails' Tailed would need to be taken out by Boruto personally, including his own uncle, Hyuga Neji.
If she didn't side with Makoto but with her so-called grandson Boruto, then Boruto would simply end up becoming Konoha's top executioner.
Kushina was very clear about this reality.
This was where she differed from Naruto.
She was pragmatic.
"However, strangely enough, Sasuke still wanted to build a good relationship with his daughter later on. He even went so far as to consult Kakashi, who was still single even in the future and developed a master plan to win over his daughter based on the tactics in the Icha icha Paradise novels." Makoto added this comment casually.
"What the actual hell?" Kushina, who had been lost in heavy thoughts, was startled by Makoto's sudden revelation.
Using Jiraiya's smut novels to scheme how to approach his own daughter?
How utterly depraved!
Makoto intentionally kept everyone engaged in conversation here, creating space and distraction for Black Zetsu.
Meanwhile, a dark shadow quietly slipped underground, moving like a snake toward the gedo mazou, which was currently twitching and spasming as if suffering from bad stomach cramps after consuming Boruto!
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