After finishing breakfast, Boruto left the house and headed toward the usual meeting point for Team 7. As he walked down the street, Momoshiki suddenly spoke inside his mind.
"Brat, can you use your Jougan right now?"
"Huh? Right now?"
"Of course. Activate your eye."
"Oh… okay."
Boruto did not think much about it. Hearing Momoshiki's request, he immediately activated the Jougan.
But the moment the power flowed through his eye, Boruto frowned.
"Why does this feel different than before?"
"Just as I expected," Momoshiki said calmly. "Something has changed."
"What do you mean? What changed?" Boruto asked quickly.
"It has turned into the Byakugan."
"What?!"
Boruto shouted in shock.
The sudden outburst made several people on the street turn and stare at him. Embarrassed, Boruto quickly ran away until he reached a quiet alley with no one around.
"Momoshiki! What's going on? Why did my eye turn into the Byakugan?" Boruto asked anxiously.
Momoshiki answered after a moment of thought.
"I suspect the Karma extraction process has been progressing too quickly. Because of that, the Otsutsuki traits in your body are beginning to surface. The first manifestation appears to be ocular techniques. Your body instinctively activated an Otsutsuki ability. The Byakugan."
Boruto calmed down slightly.
"So… can I still use my Jougan?"
"Of course," Momoshiki replied. "The Jougan is a higher level dojutsu than the Byakugan. A lower bloodline ability cannot override a superior one."
"Then how do I activate the Jougan now?" Boruto asked.
"It is still too early for you," Momoshiki said. "For now, focus on adapting to the Byakugan. From this point forward, you should keep the Byakugan active whenever possible."
"Why?"
"Maintaining the Byakugan will stimulate the dormant Hyuga blood within your body. That will help you master its ocular abilities much faster. It is the only way for you to unlock more advanced techniques later."
Boruto scratched his head.
"But how am I supposed to explain suddenly having the Byakugan?"
Momoshiki responded with clear sarcasm.
"Idiot. Who is your mother? Do I really need to explain further?"
Boruto immediately understood.
"Right… right. That makes sense."
Then another thought crossed his mind.
"So does that mean I can start using Otsutsuki techniques now?" Boruto asked with curiosity.
"The first abilities to unlock are ocular techniques," Momoshiki explained. "That means you will eventually gain access to the standard abilities of the Otsutsuki clan, along with some techniques unique to me. But you are not qualified yet."
"When you can properly control the pressure of the Byakugan, we can discuss it again."
Boruto blinked.
"Pressure control? How am I supposed to train that? I've never heard of the Hyuga clan using the Byakugan like that."
"I will explain it later when you return home," Momoshiki said. "Right now someone is approaching you. Handle that first."
Not long after Momoshiki finished speaking, two shinobi wearing Hidden Leaf headbands appeared at the entrance of the alley.
"You there," one of them said. "You were running around suspiciously and then suddenly entered this alley. Your behavior looks questionable. Come with us."
Boruto glanced at the armbands on their shoulders.
They were standard equipment of the Konoha Military Police Force.
"So they're police ninja…" Boruto thought.
"I'm not suspicious," Boruto said with a hint of mockery. "Haven't you seen my face before?"
The second ninja looked at him more carefully.
"Oh. You're the son of the Seventh Hokage. It seems we made a mistake. Sorry about that."
"Well, since you confirmed it, I'm leaving," Boruto said as he turned toward the alley exit.
"Wait," the first ninja stopped him. "We still need to confirm that you are not using a Transformation Jutsu. Please cooperate."
Boruto sighed.
"Fine. Check whatever you want."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
The ninja placed one hand on Boruto's shoulder and formed a quick hand seal with the other.
A small wave of chakra passed through Boruto's body.
Other than that, nothing happened.
Boruto quickly realized they were indeed testing whether he was disguised with a Transformation Jutsu. He relaxed slightly.
"Alright," the ninja said. "We have confirmed that you are not using any transformation techniques. Sorry for the trouble."
"No problem," Boruto replied casually. "But the Military Police weren't this strict before. Did something happen recently?"
The second officer stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"Since you're the Hokage's son, I can tell you a little."
"The village recently issued a mission to tighten security and screen all suspicious individuals. We've been very busy these past few days. As for the exact reason, even we don't know."
"If you want more details, you should ask the Seventh Hokage."
"Thanks for telling me," Boruto said gratefully. "Oh, I almost forgot. What are your names?"
The ninja who spoke quietly earlier smiled.
"My name is Toribe Kinoshita. The serious one over there is Sho Yamanaka."
"Toribe, let's go," Sho Yamanaka called out while walking toward the alley exit. "We still have patrol duty."
"Alright, I'm coming!" Toribe replied.
He waved to Boruto.
"See you later."
Then he ran after his partner.
After they left, Boruto muttered to himself,
"Are all members of the Yamanaka clan like that? Inojin and Aunt Ino are pretty outgoing too."
"Stop daydreaming," Momoshiki said impatiently. "Go to the meeting point. And when you return home today, you still need to train your Byakugan pressure control."
"Oh right!"
Boruto suddenly remembered.
"I almost forgot about that."
With that, Boruto immediately ran toward the Team 7 meeting location.