Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
Kakumei – Arc 4: Might Makes Right
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Chapter 82 – Conflict of Peace
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In the mainland of Heart, far from the northern littoral, deeper in the country is a gigantic field of red flowers lying on countless hills. In the middle of these hills is a village: Ketsugakure, the hidden village of blood, home of the women-only Tomoe clan.
In this village, at the moment, is Meinu Imai, alias Killin' Kiss, the second highest rated bounty hunter in the world, and founding member of Oshio Uchiha's Kakumei group. She is currently enjoying a bath in a private onsen belonging to Kiseru Tomoe, the first born of Toshima, the current leader of the clan and village.
Meinu has come to this place after assuring Oshio that she'll be able to make an ally out of this village's inhabitants. As she rests on the border of the bath, she raises her leg up straight and lets it emerge from the water, leaving the few girls around her to see her perfectly smooth and tanned skin, as well as the mitsudomoe tattoo on her right thigh.
This tattoo, just like the one Kawaki and all other members of Kakumei have, is a symbol drawn over the place where Oshio implanted a white receiver. Through this tattoo, she can communicate with him, receive his chakra to be healed and, in her specific case, use his eye power to activate a powerful Genjutsu that tricks whoever looks at this symbol into thinking they have serious feelings for her.
As she raises her leg and displays the said tattoo to the eyes of the surrounding girls, she attempts to trap them inside this illusion. Three girls are with her at the moment, including Kiseru, the princess of the clan. This girl seems less impressed than the others, which Meinu notices. The mercenary first looks at the one on her left, a tall brown skinned, blue eyed, blonde young girl.
"Tell me, Seiki…" she calls her. "All of you barely ever see any dudes. So I guess you're all more into girls."
"I-I don't know…" Seiki answers. "I like girls… But maybe I'd like guys if I ever saw one."
"But you're right, Lady Imai." another girl says, older, shorter, with slightly lighter skin, pale green eyes and purple hair with blonde bangs. "We don't need men to develop romantic feelings, unlike most other people around the world."
"Gay people exist everywhere, Pai. And please, call me Meinu." she answers before raising her head and looking forward to the last girl who rests at the other end of the bath. "What about you, Kiseru? You actually met guys. So are you into girls only, or both?" she asks, voluntarily forgetting to mention the "guys only" possibility.
"… I'm not into anyone." reluctantly answers the young woman, who's around the same age as her interlocutor.
Killin' Kiss sighs. This princess likes to play hard to get, but she won't resist her illusions any longer. These two other girls, Seiki and Pai, are teenagers, which makes them easier but also less fun to manipulate. Kiseru however, is a challenge that Meinu won't refuse.
Even though the princess doesn't show it, Meinu already earned her friendship. It is just a matter of time before she gets her trust, support and eventually, love. Kiss's only doubt is whether or not she'll get Kiseru to choose her over her clan.
Before she can go on with this conversation, the voice of her sovereign resounds in her mind, calling for her in an emergency.
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Meanwhile, somewhere else on this land, in a pale green forest, among dead trees that were recently cut down in the action of a fight, Kawaki roams, looking for a familiar face that he's been keeping an eye on under Oshio's demand.
"Kawaki, this way!" calls Minoka, who accompanied the cursed young man on this mission.
Kawaki follows her voice, and finds her sitting on the ground next to a tree that fell over the tall corpse of the one they were looking for. The dead man lying there is no other than Guroi, the Ripper. They hadn't seen him in 5 years, and only find him again now, too late.
Kawaki lifts up the tree covering the dead body and throws it away. Surprisingly, he finds the Murasame sword still in the hunter's hand. The one who killed him didn't even take it as a trophy. He crouches next to Minoka and looks at the wounds that she's analyzing.
"He obviously wasn't killed by the tree. He was dead before it fell on him." she comments.
"But look at it. It was clearly cut by his sword." Kawaki adds. "So, he's been killed between the moment he's cut that tree and the time it fell down."
"Sounds oddly quick… This looks like claw marks." Minoka notes, looking at 3 large slices in the Ripper's torso. "It's deep… and smooth. It really must have been fast."
Kawaki takes a closer look at this wound, and widely opens his eyes in surprise. Someone who fights with claws, is at least this fast and could have a reason to beef with a mercenary… This profile reminds him of a certain someone he knew in his previous life. "White Claw…" he whispers to himself the name of this international bounty hunter that goes by no other name than this.
"What did you say?" Minoka asks, not sure if she heard that correctly.
"… I think I know the guy who did this…" Kawaki answers.
"Someone from your past?" Minoka guesses, before getting more curious about it. "Lord Oshio mentioned something about you and a kid from Kumo you saw last week. It seems like you're seeing familiar faces often lately."
"Yukai doesn't remember me." Kawaki answers trustfully as he stands up, about the Kumo-nin. "He's a completely different kid from when I knew him. And me too. Same probably goes for this one." he adds that last part while pointing his hand at the lethal claw marks on Guroi's chest. "It doesn't matter what happened to them. It's only from my past as you said. It's too late to get it back anyway. Now, my partners are Kakumei. No one else."
Minoka doesn't say anything and just looks up to him. By his face, she can tell that the decision to move on from his past took him a while to accept. His meeting with the boy from Kumo last week probably was the trigger to this.
Suddenly, in both their minds, they hear their leader's voice, giving the same emergency call as to Meinu at the same time.
"Everyone, come back to Hikari immediately." Oshio Uchiha transmits his thoughts.
Chimatakami
A black portal appears at all the locations where members of Kakumei are resting. To put them in a hurry, the lost Uchiha gives the unexpected reason for his call.
"It is urgent! Naruto Uzumaki is here." he says, to everyone's surprise.
Minoka just makes a shocked face, knowing full well that the reason for this sudden visit is Oshio's last mission in the land of Water, when he captured a Biju. Kawaki takes the dead Ripper's sword, grabs his friend by the arm and hurries to jump through Oshio's space rift. In Ketsugakure, Meinu's mood completely changes as she hears the news. Kiseru, Seiki and Pai, in the bath with her, stand up in surprise when a portal appears behind her.
"Tsk… Seiki, get me a towel. Pai, my clothes." she asks, embarrassed, before the two girls doubtlessly obey.
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In the throne room of Hikarigakure, Oshio Uchiha sits with the Yamanaka twins, Akiko and Fuyuko standing on both sides around him. Further in the room is Mikitaka who shakes in fear. Kawaki and Minoka emerge from a portal on the left. The man with the red curse mark leaves the Ripper's sword next to Fuyuko and waits. Meinu is the last to arrive. She breathes in and out to stay calm and goes to stand next to Mikitaka. Oshio thinks while looking at the twins by his side.
"Fuyuko, I'll open a portal now, and you'll step through." he says. "I'll bring you back later."
Fuyuko sees a black portal appear again behind Oshio's seat. This one, unlike all those he summoned earlier, leads to another dimension. Following his chief's orders, he steps through and brings the sword of Guroi that Kawaki just gave him.
Akiko, looks back to the closing portals and thinks. It seems like Oshio would like to have her resemblance with her brother as an advantage. Having only one of them at the same place could lead others to believe that Kakumei has only one shadow-bending Yamanaka tengu user. Amused by this possibility, she lightly laughs and turns around again.
As they're all waiting for the entrance of the one whose coming got them in a hurry, they hear people running through the halls on the other side of the large door. Now the door is pushed open by a pair of ninjas who, like all their colleagues through the building, feel obliged to clear the way for whoever's stepping in. Behind the door they see him, the 7th Hokage, crossing the door frame.
"Now you've made it personal, kid." Naruto says before stopping to stand in front of the ruler's seat. He looks around to see all the faces of Kakumei and gazes at Mikitaka who's trembling and holding his pee in. "So you sealed him in this guy. I can feel Saiken inside him."
Mikitaka, who was craving for power since he's been defeated by Boruto, just came out handy to Oshio who thought he'd need a temporary jinchuriki for the Biju he'll capture.
"Naruto Uzumaki, lord Hokage… I was hoping to meet you, but not so early." Oshio says to stay diplomatic.
"You've had your ass sitting here in the dark for 5 years." Naruto answers. "It's about damn time we meet each other."
Before going on, he looks through the room and sees the faces of everyone again. He recognizes Kawaki with whom he spoke before. This one is looking away, embarrassed, feeling like he failed the Hokage for some reason. Next to him must be Minoka, the girl that Shino mentioned who's supposedly a former student of the scientist named Suto.
Right to the throne, a girl who oddly fits the description of the boy that Konohamaru fought and Shino met, at least he thinks. Far on the right, the one he senses Saiken's chakra in is Mikitaka, the guy who accompanied Kawaki to the exam. And the last one in the rank is a woman who seems older than the others. She must be the one who almost killed Udon 5 years ago. For some reason, she looks excessively upset. Everyone is showing excessive emotions, whether they are in anguish, anger, or even hyped, except for the sovereign, who stays unreadable.
"So that's the band?" Naruto asks, done with analyzing everyone. "And what's the plan? Collecting the Bijus and resurrecting the Juubi? You're trying to be this generation's Akatsuki?"
None of them speak. Akiko bends forward and looks at all his colleagues for a moment.
"Hmm… Not that much." he says. "Meinu and discount Kaneki are the mercenary and crazy psycho duo. So we can check Kakuzu and Hidan. But for the rest… Oshio's a swordsman Uchiha with brother issues and a Rinnegan. So we can check Kisame, Itachi, Tobi and Pain too… and we check Konan too for being a mandatory female part… Let's check Deidara as well cuz he kinda has my haircut and eyeliner. And we're still missing Sasori."
Disturbed by the Yamanaka's odd discourse, Naruto interrupts, insisting to get Oshio to speak.
"Is that really what you want?" he asks. "If your goal is the Mugen Tsukuyomi, sorry to say but it won't work any better than last time. Whatever your ties to Momoshiki Otsutsuki were, they don't have to define who you become."
When she hears him, the one who defeated her god, speak his name with such little respect, Meinu loses it. She growls in anger, but doesn't have the courage to speak up. Naruto senses her feelings and stares at her, waiting to hear her complaints. To not let her be provoked, Oshio answers.
"This has nothing to do with Momoshiki or Mugen Tsukuyomi." he explains. "It is about this world as it is today. Not the past."
"Well, explain then." Naruto insists. "I'm right there, not gonna leave without an answer. Kawaki did tell me that there's a bunch of stuff you had to talk with me about. Now's the moment. What was the Wind Daimyo's murder about?"
"… It is all about change, Hokage. Definitive change." Oshio answers. "You can't deny that the peace you brought after the war will die with you."
"It doesn't have to." Naruto answers. "It is any ninja's mission to carry on his values to the next generations, and so will I."
"It's not possible." Oshio promptly answers. "What next generation? Your son? Izuna? Takeshi Minamoto, or whoever else? None of them have the same will of heart as you, but most importantly, none of them will ever have your power. What maintains peace isn't anything you can pass on. It is your Might. But you'd refuse to sustain your myth. History, after you, will only repeat the wars that came a 1000 years ago after the Rikudo-Sennin… This is what Kakumei is about: to give power to one who'll unite the world under him immortally."
"Kakumei? Revolution?" Naruto thinks out loud, remembering that he's heard of this plan before. "Are you really Sasuke's son?"
Oshio goes on with his answer to Naruto's previous question, ignoring this new one.
"Someone with your power can stop conflicts with no more than a word. After all, what else would any ninja, samurai or soldier do if you came to him in the flesh and ordered him to stop fighting? If ever your words aren't enough, you could just put a slight effort into a single attack. Destroying a village, annihilating an army… Effortless actions to you that would instantly subdue enemies."
"This isn't Peace. It's Terror." Naruto exclaims.
"These are the same things. And your denial is the problem." Oshio goes on. "Since you refuse to act as you should, I will. But first, I need to ensure that Might is the only thing to rule. Conflicts wouldn't even start if someone like you was free of his actions."
"What does that mean?" the Hokage asks.
"You aren't sovereign to your territories. The daimyo is. A powerless old man and his greedy family who uses the mightiest as pawns to make sure their goods stay theirs. The biggest mistake in ninja history is when the same families who used ninja clans as mercenaries to fight their wars managed to turn the hidden villages, originally founded as peaceful shelters, into their private militaries. The first Hokage's dream only turned warring clans into warring villages. And it became even worse after that. No war before was ever as bloody as the 4 Great Ninja Wars."
Naruto, to his own embarrassment, doesn't know what to answer. Oshio has a point he can't deny here. A point he never actually thought of. However, the means that Kakumei would use to change this are unacceptable. He can't let himself be convinced by these words.
"The feudal families and their absurd rules over the ninja who could easily end them need to go." Oshio continues. "Once they're all dead, only the Kage, being the strongest of their lands, will lead their people. Only then, someone will have to make sure the nations never go against each other again. And to this end, the solution is to unite them all as one. An immortal hero, bringing change to a troubled world, will take over, conquer the lands and become the only leader."
"You could just leave the Kage to work together as the Shinobi Union. It would unite the nations without any conquest needed."
"But then the rules wouldn't be made by the mightiest. Suna and Iwa have been ruled by the same family. Such cases would only turn into new feudal families. A single eternal individual who doesn't need any inheritor is the only right path. And since you won't accept this role, this being shall be me. I will conquer all the lands, collect all the powers of the Biju to make myself immortal, and become the mightiest of all. The one to choose for everyone. Then, unfortunately, Naruto Uzumaki, for this to become true, you, as well as my father, will have to die too."
Naruto stays silent for a moment. He and Kurama think of this monologue. They find it oddly similar to what Sasuke wanted to do after the war, but more elaborate. One thing however, bugs the Kyubi. Oshio has been hidden in this land for 5 years and maybe longer. Before that, he was only a kid.
"How would you know?" the fox speaks, letting his voice be heard in the outside world to address the young ruler. "You've barely even seen the world you're pretending to save!"
"You're mistaken, fox demon." Oshio says. "I've not only seen this world, but many others that validate my point. I have been trained and educated against my will by Momoshiki Otsutsuki. He's brought me to see the people in other planets, other galaxies, other dimensions. Most don't even have chakra, yet are so similar to our world. Just like us, they're trapped in eternal wars. They sometimes think they've reached peace, but are just at the dawn of a bigger conflict, just like we were after the hidden village's founding or today. In our world, even with might borrowed from the gods, humanity is still too primitive. This energy, this power, it has only one right use, and it's one's ascension to godhood. One to maintain eternal order."
The Hokage stays silent for a bit, amazed by what he just heard. Oshio seems to be talking about other planets like Earth, inhabited by specimens that are neither humans, nor celestials. These worlds are probably still like Earth was before Kaguya's arrival and Hagoromo Otsutsuki's gift of chakra. He is amazed, yet disturbed by this. Oshio has a point again. Even Hagoromo and Kaguya said it. The ninja world, even with the energy shared by the Rikudo-sennin, was still the same desolate place ruined by war as thousands of years before.
This kid seems actually much informed and prepared for what he intends to do, and this bugs the Hokage. How did he even have time for that? Added to all the exploration he'd need to acquire this knowledge, it seems like he was also taught how to use his eyes and unique chakra efficiently enough to already have mastered Chimatakami, the space-time jutsu that Sasuke needed over 2 years to just discover.
"… Momoshiki's been on Earth only for a month." Naruto complains. "He probably also taught you how to use your abilities. How could you have learned so much from him in so little time?"
"Education isn't limited by time for beings such as us." Oshio explains. "If you really want to know, the Rikudo realm resides in all the descendants of the gods, but only those with eyes or senses powerful enough can wish to see it. It is free from time, space and resources. Whoever enters this place can mold its own mind and knowledge. I probably know more than you about your own nature thanks to it. It is where the gods themselves are built, and likely where the Rikudo-sennin brought your Biju to shape."
This plain he is talking about, Naruto is unknowingly very familiar with it. Kurama understood these words, but his host is more worried about the last sentence. Oshio brought back the original reason for Naruto's visit by mentioning the Biju. The Hokage looks at Mikitaka who's now jinchuriki of Rokubi, and this worried gaze doesn't go unnoticed by the Uchiha.
"Don't worry for your slug friend." Oshio says. "He is unconscious, unaware, in an illusion of my doing. He's not bothered by any pain, and can't even suffer from the passing time. To him, it is but an instant."
Naruto lowers his eyebrows, unsure of how to feel about this statement. It sounds reassuring, sure, but is satisfying either. However, to free his friend would mean to kill the host. Maybe he could do something to avoid his death, but it's not like Kakumei is ready to let anything like this happen for now.
"Saiken… I'm sorry. I promise I'll get you out of here." he says out loud, for the biju to hear through his jinchuriki, aware that it might take a while before he finds a solution. "One thing's for sure,…" he goes on, speaking to Kakumei. "Don't expect me to let you get near another of them. You pretend to act in the name of peace, and I can understand that. Everyone has a different definition for this. It's all about sustaining your ideal and giving meaning to it. It appears our ideals are conflicting, and only one will thrive."
"So be it. A conflict of peace then." Oshio answers coldly, which frets all his friends, not as ready as him to take on a challenge from the God of Shinobi.
"There is some sense in your ideas. You just need to be brought down to Earth." Naruto summarizes his feelings about the young Uchiha. "I'll knock some sense into y'all, like I did for previous leaders such as you, or for your father. And if it's not me who does it, it'll be him."
Right after these words, he disappears in a cloud of mist. Minoka, Mikitaka, Fuyuko and Meinu breathe out, relieved that the tension in the room finally gets to diminish. Kawaki and Akiko, however, look astonished at where Naruto was standing. Oshio stays calm, not surprised.
"I-It was just a fucking clone?" Akiko says with a trembling voice.
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In the Hokage's office, Naruto receives all the knowledge that his clone just acquired. He processes all these thoughts and looks at Shikamaru and Moegi next to him.
"It's bad…" he simply says at first.
"Have you seen all their faces?" Shikamaru asks, as this is all he was waiting for.
Moegi drops a pack of white paper sheets with a pen in front of the Hokage.
"Yes… We should be able to put names on all these faces." says Kurama, now in control of Naruto, ready to draw down the 6 members of Kakumei to prepare information sheets about each of them that he'll share with the other nations.
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Meanwhile, on top of the cliff above the 4th Hokage's face carved in stone, Boruto Hyuga arrives running, ready for his training with Sasuke Uchiha, whom he surprisingly finds already there, waiting for him.
"You're late." Sasuke says.
"Uh? But we didn't have a precise time to meet." Boruto says. "How can I be late?"
"I arrived there long before you, even though your way was shorter and you've started before me." the wanderer tells. "Coming so slowly is a pretty bad beginning for a training focused on speed."
Boruto just grins, amused by the Uchiha's exaggerations. He comes to stand still in front of him and bows to apologize for his delay. Sasuke accepts it.
"So, you'll teach me your space-time jutsu?" the Hyuga asks naively.
"Hm!" the Uchiha smirks. "Ameno Tejikara is a Kekkei Mora ability that only I can use thanks to my left eye. There is no possible way to transmit it to you."
"Uh? What?" Boruto complains. "But you said you were ok to teach it to me yesterday? What did you mean then?"
"I can't teach you this jutsu, but there are other Space-Time jutsus." Sasuke answers as he pulls out something from under his cape.
Boruto looks flattered at what his master just took out. A huge ninja scroll.
"Is that Fuin no Sho, the scroll of seals?" he asks.
"It is a scroll of seals." Sasuke corrects. "This one was made by the 2nd Hokage and contains all his creations."
"Does this mean it contains Edo Tensei?"
"It's not the jutsu I want to show you." Sasuke corrects again, hopelessly looking at his new student. "In this scroll is also what you need to learn Hiraishin, the Flying Thunder God jutsu. A Space-Time Ninjutsu that allows the user to jump through space between several chakra marks. It is the reason for your Grandfather's famous nickname: The yellow flash."
"Wow! Crazy! What are we waiting for? Give it away!" the blond boy exclaims enthusiastically.
"You'd wish it was that easy…" the master says. "Few are those who can use it. And from those who do today, they'd need to put their strengths together to do only one transportation. Close to no ninja can be as efficient as the 2nd and 4th Hokage were with it. It is a very demanding jutsu that requires the user to have a naturally tremendous speed, along with perception to the same level. And of course, it takes a lot of chakra."
"And I guess I don't have what it takes for now?" Boruto answers, kind of disappointed. "We're just beginning the training. Don't already ask me to catch up to legends like that."
"Starting with Hiraishin is a bad idea indeed. But the goal of this training will be to reach the prerequisites. How about you begin with showing me what you can do?" Sasuke says before hiding the scroll away and standing still, waiting for Boruto's offensive.
The chunin nods and gets in a Juken initiating pose. Prepared to go all out on his master, he activates his Byakugan and gathers elemental chakra in his palms. Without warning, he starts with a Shunshin to hide his movements and attacks from behind. But this mere camouflage doesn't work on Sasuke who still sees him coming and starts to dodge all his hits with simple and discreet movements.
The master makes sure to always step forward when he moves to avoid any second hand propulsion and make the boy's Juken style almost inefficient. Feeling intimidated by how his opponent has him cornered, Boruto leaps back and forward again, ready to strike with both hands at once.
Raiton – Juho Sogeki
He pushes his two lightning-covered palms forward, but before they can land he sees Sasuke pull out his arm from under his cape and quickly dash his sword before pulling it back in its hide, after abruptly cutting both arms of the boy off. Boruto stares in horror at his falling limbs and begins to scream. Why would this teacher go so far in a simple warm up?
"Calm down. It's just an illusion." Sasuke says, before Boruto suddenly relaxes and sees his two arms completely fine. "You were supposed to notice by yourself. The Byakugan should be able to see through this kind of Genjutsu."
"Wait what?" Boruto complains. "But I didn't even look in your eyes!"
"I don't need eye contact for such a simple spell." Sasuke answers, before telling about what he already saw in this short match. "Improving your use of the Byakugan would be a good thing to begin with."
"Seriously? But I've done nothing but this and Taijutsu almost my whole life." the student keeps complaining.
"We'll do it differently." the wanderer reassures him. "We'll diversify your use of the Dojutsu with what you can learn from my Sharingan. With your eyes' field of view and vision of chakra pathways, you should be able to read movements, anticipate jutsus, and follow enhanced speeds too."
"I don't need that!" Boruto says, still not aware that Sasuke will be staying for a while and therefore has more time than he'd expect to teach him. "I just want to fasten up myself to keep up with Takeshi, and to get something that rivals his Shiden so I can hurt Kawaki!"
"Then I have just what you need." Sasuke answers before gathering lightning in his hand. "This is Chidori. It is the first lightning blade created by the 6th Hokage. It is as powerful as Shiden, but it's easier to learn and harder to use. It can be used to fasten your movements and even break the wall of sound. However, to be able to freely move rather than just on straight lines, you need an advanced perception that helps avoiding the tunnel effect. Sharingan does that. Byakugan could as well."
Boruto just listens passionately at his master's lesson and sees him step forward to a huge boulder.
"Learning how to perform the jutsu will be easy if you analyze my chakra with your Byakugan." the master goes on. "So I'll introduce your second objective at the same time." He says just as he slices the rock open with his hand. "I've seen that messy scar on the face of that boy you were fighting at the exam."
"Yeah the lightning shaped thing." Boruto says, remembering the scar he accidentally left on Iwabe Yogu's face. "That was me."
"Well, it was a terrible performance." Sasuke comments and steps away from the rock he's just hit to show a perfectly clean and straight slit in the stone. "The difference between an untidy cut like yours and a perfect one like mine is the user's speed. A straight slit like this means my hand moved way faster than the lightning. So first, enhance your perception with the Byakugan until you can resist the tunnel effect. Second, learn Chidori. Third, boost your body's swiftness with the blade's lightning until you're able to make a cut as clean as this one… By the time you get to this, you may already be able to perform Hiraishin."
"Incredible!…" Boruto calmly says, amazed by his master's teaching while stepping closer to see the clean cut in the rock. "But how good is this jutsu actually? Is it really as powerful as Shiden? Like, how far does it actually go?"
Sasuke thinks of a way to show rather than to tell, and decides to pull out all the stops for his student's enjoyment.
Chimatakami
He transports himself and Boruto to another planet that looks a lot like Earth in terms of atmosphere. Boruto can't even tell he's left his world, but it still looks like it to him as he discovers an astonishing landscape. Around them a thousands kilometers wide desert field with enormous hectare tall boulders lying around.
Sasuke looks around and chooses a specific boulder that stands out from the others.
"This one's not that tall, but it'll be fine." he says.
"What? That thing there?" Boruto says doubtfully. "How is this not tall? It's twice the size of Hokage's mansion!"
"… This jutsu's efficiency is a lot about the user too." Sasuke says, ignoring Boruto's doubts. "But for you, Naruto's son, I have no doubt that you'll surpass this demonstration with it."
"What demonstration?" Boruto asks, having already a clear idea of what his master will do, but still not believing it.
Susanoo
To protect him from a possible troublesome consequence, Sasuke surrounds Boruto with the upper body of his Susanoo, and steps away towards the biggest boulder as lightning sharply gathers in his hand again.
Chidori
In a flash, Boruto sees him disappear from where he was standing and, with an odd delay to his movement, can hear what sounds like the cries of a thousand birds. An instant later, he sees an unbelievably colossal flash of lightning instantaneously propagate through the huge boulder and completely reduce it to dust. But it doesn't stop there. The thunderbolts resulting from the collision accidentally hit other surrounding rocks, shattering them to pieces.
Boruto stares at the insane spectacle of thunder happening in front of his eyes, and feels an incredible sensation of satisfaction from it. The chaos spreads further behind him, who remains unaffected, protected by Susanoo. This colossal strike could have reduced a whole village to ashes.
To think that Sasuke told with certainty that he'll reach this level in the future makes him shake like a child in tail for the biggest ride of the amusement park for the first time. He's beginning to think that asking for Sasuke's teaching was the best decision of his life. He now can't wait to face Kawaki again after his training.
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End of chapter 82 – Next chapter: Heating the moment