Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
Kakumei – Arc 4: Might Makes Right
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Chapter 102 – Absolute Spirit
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Morning in Konoha. In the Hokage's mansion, the special Jonin and bureaucrats have begun a regular day of work in a village that is still missing its true leader. In the hallways where adults come and go, Izuna Uchiha is in a hurry, running through to the top floor toward the Hokage's office.
There, he barges in without knocking and inhales, ready to make a major announcement to his mother. However, he doesn't find her sitting at the desk. There is only Moegi Kazamatsuri who stands next to it and looks at him, startled by his arrival.
"Where's my mother?" Izuna asks rapidly.
"She's at the hospital, doing her job." Moegi answers. "Her first original job, I mean."
"Quick! You have to tell her!" the boy exclaims. "The capital is at threat. Oshio is going there to destroy the city! I saw it!"
"Wow! Wait! Calm down, Izuna." the Hokage's assistant says, while shaking her hands messily. "What do you mean you saw it?"
"In a vision!" Izuna replies. "Your theory was right. These were really what Oshio was seeing. He was right here above Konoha tonight, on his way to the capital."
Before this private conversation can go further, Shikamaru Nara, the Hokage's advisor, walks in with the former Hokage, Kakashi Hatake. Having seen the young Uchiha run past him earlier, Shikamaru suspected something.
"Not so fast, Izuna." he says. "First of all, an important question. How did you get here so easily? As far as I know, You're not in condition to run around so accurately."
"I have a better question first, mister the advisor…" the Uchiha replies in a bitter tone. "Why did nobody tell me that Hokage-sensei was still alive?"
Shikamaru and Kakashi look at each other, embarrassed and surprised that Izuna could find this out. Moegi does the same, and audibly gasps. Izuna takes their reaction as a confirmation.
"I want to see him. Where is he?" he asks with insistence.
"What would even be the point of this?" Shikamaru seriously replies. "It's not like you'll actually be able to see him." he adds, referring to his missing eyes.
After this remark, Izuna straightens his body and opens the eyes that he had closed until now. Moegi, in front of him, makes an even more surprised face, that Shikamaru and Kakashi don't fail to notice. The Uchiha turns around and reveals his new eyes to those behind him.
"Oh, What a drag…" Shikamaru sighs, annoyed by this turn of events. "How is this even possible?"
"I saw Oshio's vision again." Izuna explains a second time. "He was right there on his way to the capital. And just before that, a strange man visited my dream. He gave me these eyes and told the truth about Hokage-sensei."
Next to him, the 6th Hokage raises his eyebrows to show his astonishment. He has no idea how this is possible, but he quickly connects this fact to something that happened to him in the past. He also mystically received a pair of Sharingan from Obito, even though temporarily. This case seems similar but it doesn't seem to be Oshio who gave his eyes back to Izuna. Here, it's more like when Naruto made him recover his left eye.
"There's no way I trust such an ass pull!" Shikamaru exclaims, frustrated by the oddity he's witnessing.
"I'm afraid you should." Kakashi remarks, familiar with this kind of godly event. "Izuna, you're saying the capital is under attack, and you found this out just as we suggested: through a vision. Which means you and Oshio really are connected. Do you know why?"
"Wait!" Moegi exclaims, thinking she figured out something. "If they really have this kind of bond and Izuna knows about Lord 7th, doesn't it mean Oshio does too ?"
"No… I had the white rod in my hand while asleep, and I always had it on me when these visions occurred." Izuna suggests. "I'm not sure, but maybe this rod connected our chakra and that's why I could still see with my eyes. But don't worry, I threw it away. Even if this link went both ways, he still wouldn't know about Hokage-sensei. I didn't mention it to myself until now."
Kakashi looks at Shikamaru, who in Sakura's absence is the only person who can make a decision. The advisor waits a moment, and takes action. Thanks to Ino Yamanaka, who ensures communication across the village leaders, he informs everybody about the situation in the capital. Looking at Izuna, the advisor thinks about his not very reliable last suggestion. Even if Oshio found out about Naruto's situation, his goal will stay the same, and their mission as well.
"Ok… Maybe we should prepare an emergency operation to the capital,…" he says to Izuna. "But you will definitely not participate in this."
"Uh? Why?" Izuna complains. "I'm far stronger now! I'll help, I swear! I have eyes now!"
"That's the problem. Where did you get them from?" the advisor replies. "Who was this strange man who told you about Naruto? Was it a masked man with long black hair? Or was he short and horned? Or had red eyes and golden horns?" he lists all the unseen threats he knows from Sojobo's time travel visions that Naruto told him about, and stops after noticing a reaction to the last one by Izuna. "I take this as a Yes. We're not gonna use the gift of a potential enemy."
Izuna, not knowing what to say, only wants to ignore what this may imply and go to stop his brother. Out of options, he just runs away, in a desperate attempt to find a way to get there on his own. He leaps past Shikamaru and Kakashi and hurries out of the office. The two counselors turn around to see him go.
"This young man is totally attempting to go by himself." Kakashi calmly says.
"We can't let him do that!" Moegi and Shikamaru exclaims together.
"Indeed." Kakashi adds as he gets on his knees to lay his hands on the ground.
Doton – Doryuheki
In the hallway in front of Izuna, the 6th Hokage summons a column of stone walls to stop his escape. Too determined to take this as a warning, the young Uchiha strongly punches all the barriers to make his way through and goes on. Kakashi feels his walls collapse and lightly nods, acknowledging the Uchiha's fortitude. He doesn't try harder to stop him. In his actions, he recognizes the stubbornness and determination of Naruto, which was always infuriatingly helpful. Shikamaru isn't as indulgent and hurries to take action.
"Ino! Tell everyone in the building to catch Izuna." he yells to his colleague at the intel division. "Don't let him escape!"
As he gets down the stairs and toward the exit of the building, Izuna gets past any person who tries to stop him. But when he reaches an exit, he finds himself face to face with an unexpected opposition. In the way stands Boruto who just walked in the building, unaware of anything going on.
The Hokage's son looks at his friend, to whom he hasn't spoken in two months, and notices he's in a hurry. Izuna stopped straight, unsure of what side he would take. Boruto notices Izuna's new eyes, and doesn't care much about it. He simply takes it as something serious must be on.
"Where are you going?" he asks, squinting.
Izuna waits a moment before answering. He tries to think of a way to get Boruto to help him. However, he rejects his own idea, due to his natural contempt for lies, and simply tells the truth.
"The capital. My brother and Kakumei are there." he frankly says.
"Kakumei… All of Kakumei?" Boruto replies, thinking of both the man he wants to defeat and the man in whom his father's Kyubi is sealed.
"Not sure…" Izuna answers, figuring out how to get his teammate's attention. "Only thing certain is that Kawaki is with him."
After this reply, Boruto breathes in, takes a step forward, which makes Izuna get on his guard, and raises his hands. With one, he makes the seal of confrontation, and he hands out the other to his friend.
"We better get in their way right now, then. It's a good opportunity to test out something." he says, ready to seriously try out Hiraishin for the first time.
Izuna first takes a step back, but quickly changes his mind, knowing that there isn't much he can do except trust Boruto. Just as he prepares to catch his teammate's hand, they're both paralyzed by Shikamaru's Kagemane. The advisor who followed Izuna arrives in time to prevent his evasion.
"You're not going anywhere!" he exclaims, just before he feels his mind and body be disrupted.
Shinranshin no Jutsu
Behind Boruto arrived Inoue who, as soon as she saw the scene, immediately took initiative to help her squad. She uses this jutsu to slightly control the body of Shikamaru and make him undo his Shadow Paralysis. Set free, Boruto and Izuna catch each other's hand, and the Hyuga executes his jutsu.
Hiraishin
Inoue maintains her jutsu and looks forward where she sees her teammates suddenly vanish. She makes a glad face, happy that she could help them in whatever they're doing, but feels awkward that they left so quickly, without her. She didn't even have time to say happy birthday to Izuna. While in her thoughts, she's surprised by her father, Sai, behind her who rapidly sweeps his foot across her legs to make her fall, undoing her jutsu.
"Dammit!" yells Shikamaru, before calming down. "Pff… What. A. Drag."
"Inoue, what was that about?" Sai asks his daughter.
"Um… Teamwork I guess?" Inoue confusingly replies.
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In the capital of the land of Fire, the army of the Daimyo's guards unites at the main passage through the city's great barrier. The countless people always gathered at this place have been spread away due to the situation.
Thousands of ninjas and shugonin are in ranks and look up to see a colossal black Perfect Susanoo standing still in the sky above them. On the armor's shoulders are Mikitaka and Kawaki, standing like on solid ground. Oshio, in the forehead of his Susanoo, looks down at the army in front of him with contempt.
He waits just until he's done with forcibly evacuating the population of the city that he considers innocent with Chimatakami without the army knowing, just like he did so far in all other capitals to stay true to Akiko and Fuyuko's ideal of equality and his own resolve to save humanity rather than destroying it. Once done, he speaks to be heard by all who stand before him.
"In centuries, not a single attack on this village occurred." Oshio exclaims. "This royal army's main strength was always just its image, that was enough to deter enemies. But in only the last 20 years, such an invasion occurred twice. First by the Daitengu, and now by us. Both times, an opponent simply too powerful for any army dares to present himself to this city. The Daimyo's great guard never had any use in battle. Because when it comes to this, the invader is already guaranteed to win."
"The capitals simply didn't keep up with the growth of their enemies." Kawaki replies to complete Oshio's monologue. "It goes to show how outdated the Daimyo system really is. In this world, invaders aren't just rulers, but fighters of their own. If the man in power can't confront it himself, then…"
Before he can finish this sentence, a purple sparkle of chakra blasts off his torso, where the symbol of the Uzumaki clan had been posed as a jutsu formula by Boruto Hyuga. In an instant, the yellow haired ninja of Konoha appears, Chidori at hand and with Izuna by his side, and stabs through the left shoulder of Kawaki.
Startled by this sudden and unexpected entrance, Kawaki gets hit too soon to react. Boruto then tries to move his arm around, to slice his enemy's left arm off, aware of Sasuke's advice that was to separate Kawaki from the Shojo seal on his hand. However, Kawaki has time to counter this. With his right hand, he firmly holds on Boruto's arm and pulls it out from his shoulder by force. Too weak to oppose this strength, Boruto instead grabs a kunai that he tries to plunge into his opponent's back, over his other shoulder.
Ameno Hohi
But before it can land, the tool disappears to reappear in the hand of Oshio Uchiha who used Izuna's eye power to transport the weapon to him. Boruto's empty hand hits his opponent's shoulder, obviously doing no damage. Kawaki lets go of Boruto's hand and kicks him in the stomach, throwing him off the Susanoo with Izuna.
As he falls down, the Hyuga looks toward the forehead of the black giant and puts all his strength in his right arm. He grabs Izuna's hand and tosses him over to his brother. Izuna flutters toward Oshio and gathers his chakra as flames in his left fist. Not sure if a simple Enken would be enough to break this barrier, he improvises a new jutsu from his latest training.
Rasen Enken
By making the chakra spin around his closed fist like a Rasengan, he creates a new repelling fist that he uses to strike the crystal of the Susanoo's head and make a crack in it. After a little moment, this crack spreads larger and pierces a hole in the armor, large enough for Izuna to pass through. The torrent of flames propelled by this punch spreads in the armor and damages its protection.
No harm reaches Oshio who absorbs all the fire close to him and in his way with his Rinnegan. Once his sight is cleared, he looks at his brother's face full of determination, but also at his brand new eyes. He doesn't let Izuna reach him.
Shinra Tensei
He makes a repulsion that pushes Izuna through the same hole he entered by and sends him to the ground with Boruto. On the Susanoo's left shoulder, Mikitaka looks over and tries to understand what is happening. On the ground, the army of the Daimyo takes advantage of this moment of distraction and prepares a first attack.
Katon – Cho Goen Senpu (Super Great Fire Tornado)
The ninjas of the guard bring their power together and form a gigantic fire whirlwind that engulfs the enemy's flying fortress, disturbing its flight. Unfortunately, this effort is quickly reduced to nothing as Oshio simply uses his Rinnegan to absorb the flame torrent again. On the Susanoo's right shoulder, Kawaki's wound left by Boruto's Chidori heals completely thanks to his white receiver. Once done with the fire, Oshio looks down to see the army, Boruto and Izuna.
"How convenient! The Hokage's son knows his grandpa's jutsu now." he comments about Boruto's Hiraishin, with his voice echoing out from his avatar. "Sadly, you kids won't make any difference to what will happen to this place. Let me show you now, just how little you are compared to my might."
After these words, the Perfect Susanoo raises its left arm and summons a long giant ethereal, needle-like, sword that it points to the sky.
Futsu no Mitama
It then throws its arm down, while no one in front of it can stop this. The sword's tip stops just centimeters away from the ground, but the simple dash through space of this weapon was enough to separate the skies and lands. The ninjas of the guard, and the two youngs of Konoha turn around and gasp in surprise at the sight of a town already split in two. The feudal castle property, on its hill, was split as well, but the inhabitants should still be fine.
"Kawaki…" Oshio says as he grabs his friend in his armor's right hand. "Get the job done."
Kawaki nods and pulls out his black staff from his right mitsudomoe tattoo. The Susanoo then tosses him over through the air, past all resistance, all the way to the castle.
"Miki…" Oshio adds. "You're free to rampage. But make sure to get rid of Naruto Uzumaki's son."
"Hell yeah!" Mikitaka exclaims as he activates his Biju Chakra Mode and jumps off the giant samurai.
"Now, let's show the Daimyo's army what opposition I brought." the Uchiha sovereign says at last as his Susanoo fades away.
From the fading armor emerges the remaining army of Hikari. Nearly a thousand men who were hidden in the giant black chakra mass. They get in ranks behind Mikitaka, ready for this offensive.
Izuna looks around, flabbergasted by how irresistible this offensive seems. Boruto, however, knows very well where he wants to go first. His rival went forward to kill the Daimyo, and he needs to be stopped. After he takes just a single step, Mikitaka in his dark nine-tailed chakra mantle gets in his way, to make it clear that he will be his opponent. Boruto, unwilling to take part in this battle, raises his hand and makes the same hand sign as earlier, to use Hiraishin again.
"Stop!" Izuna yells to get his friend's attention. "Stay here. You know very well that you wouldn't be able to defeat Kawaki anyway."
"But the feudal family!" Boruto exclaims in response.
"The hundreds of thousands of citizens and soldiers are more important than them!" Izuna replies, unaware that the city has already been emptied. "If this jinchuriki bastard is left without an opponent, he'll destroy everything. And we still need Kurama to save Hokage-sensei. So take care of him!"
Boruto stands there confused for a moment. He didn't know that Izuna found out about his father. But he doesn't argue with this order and complies. Looking at his friend's serious face, he asks himself why their team chose him as a pseudo-leader and not Izuna. Why is he jonin while this guy is still chunin? Whatever, just now, he received an order that he has to follow.
"Fine." Boruto says, before activating his Byakugan and getting ready to fight. "What will you do?" he adds, asking Izuna.
"I need to have a word with someone." the Uchiha says, before activating his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Ameno Hohi
He uses his unique ability and teleports himself behind the battling armies, where his elder brother did the exact same at the same time, and arrives to stand face to face with him. The two brothers quietly gaze at each other for a few seconds.
"I only notice it now, but I've seen you only thrice in person." Izuna remarks about his brother's appearance. "And each time, your skin and hair seemed brighter, more colorless."
To this remark, Oshio doesn't answer. He knows the reason for this is the stranger's chakra in him that is slowly taking over. But he doesn't mention it. He remarks Izuna's Dojutsu.
"How convenient." he says again. "I suppose Kawaki was right. Gods seem to be on your side."
"Why do you keep going, Oshio?" Izuna asks, ignoring this remark. "You clearly don't want what you're preaching."
"What I want doesn't matter. It never did." the older one replies. "What matters now is what I need. What the world needs. Do you know anything about the god who gave you these Sharingan?"
"What does your quest have to do with someone like him?" Izuna asks again, not surprised that Oshio quickly guessed how he got his new eyes.
"But Izuna, it is only about people like him!" the leader of Kakumei begins his explanation. "The Otsutsuki clan, the fellows of Momoshiki, are the superior force that our world needs to break free from. Their coming and claim of our power is soon to come. No army or union can oppose them. Only someone on par with them can. We need a new god. A man who can rival them, and is capable of uniting the people of the world as one under his might. Just like the Rikudo-sennin did centuries ago. To this day, I am the only one who can take on this task. I need absolute power. I have to become the sole incarnation of our hopes. The sole ruler, sole jinchuriki, sole god of Earth."
"What makes you think these guys are that powerful? And why would you be the only candidate for such a role?"
"I saw these gods come upon my land and kill our father, whom I delivered to them myself!" Oshio suddenly yells. "And my blind ambition took Naruto Uzumaki away from this world. Because of my actions, this planet is left with no protector. So it is my role to replace what I stole from this world."
"If Hokage-sensei's disappearance is the only reason for you to do this, then joining our side is the best thing to do." Izuna says, ready to reveal his village's secret to his brother. "Contrary to what you believe, you didn't kill him. He can still be saved if we bring Kurama back to his body."
"What?" Oshio replies, suddenly angered by what he hears, but quickly calms down as he thinks it through and realizes he should have guessed this sooner. "This doesn't change anything. Even if he's still here, Father is really gone."
"I know it can't be your only reason to go on." Izuna answers, confidently. "If it really was, you'd use your Rinnegan to fix this and bring him back."
"You think I didn't try already?" Oshio yells again, to Izuna's surprise. "I refuse to stop now. I would be doomed anyway. And my death would bring a definitive end to the ninja world."
Izuna squints, unsure of what this might mean. Oshio considers himself certain to die, but he doesn't have enough information to understand why.
"The Hokage will have to die anyway, because the Kyubi is mine." the Uchiha sovereign declares. "Neither our father nor Naruto Uzumaki would have the will to do what needs to be done anyway. The only way for me to save myself, and to save the world, is to surpass them. I cannot keep living in a world knowing that beings superior to me exist. I need to find the absolute spirit again. The one that looks over all that exists with its one eye. The one who can choose for everyone. With this entity by my side, no celestial invader will ever be a threat again. I am the only person in this world aware of its existence, and the only one with the resolve and means to search for it."
Izuna doesn't answer and just frowns. He didn't understand a word of what his brother said, but one thing is sure. He doesn't have his master's talent to convince enemies with words. He will have to fight to stop Oshio, regardless of the obvious power gap between them. Oshio remarks his younger brother's intentions in his eyes, and decides to make them clearer. He uses his own Sharingan's power.
Futsunushi
"You have awakened the Byakugo seal as I see." he starts to list his abilities. "It grants you a tremendous chakra reserve that you only know how to use to heal others, yourself and increase your already phenomenal strength. The Rasen Enken you used earlier is the result of the combination of the Rasengan's principle with your Enken. Nothing that I can't absorb. Most importantly, with these eyes, you have all the abilities that first were yours. You can teleport yourself where you look, and bring objects to you with the same jutsu. You can use all the Genjutsu and sensory powers of the Sharingan, and obviously Susanoo, which is new to you. However, I have the same eyes. I can use all these skills and way more. How do you intend to hold me back?"
Izuna gets in a fight stance, ready to begin a nearly hopeless battle.
"I will do all I can." he says as he flames on both his fists in front of his brother who stares at him disappointedly and raises his left hand with the eye in its palm.
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On the other side of the battle field, Boruto is struggling to resist the violent power of Mikitaka's Biju, all alone against an insanely rapid and untamed beast. Since the jinchuriki kept his human size this time, his speed is multiplied and close to what Naruto could achieve with his first Kyubi Chakra Mode. All that Boruto can do is step back and block the strikes he sees coming. Covered in his Chidori's lightning, he manages to keep up and surpass his opponent's speed.
However, not a single of his attacks can bypass the dense Biju chakra mantle of his opponent. Out of options, and still trying to keep his distance, he pulls out a few shuriken that he coats in lightning and throws to the enemy.
Chidori Shuriken
The projectiles are repelled by the monster's armor, doing no harm. To complete this useless offensive, Boruto throws an electric kunai that he marks with a jutsu formula, hoping to set an opportunity. But this projectile is easily caught in Mikitaka's hand, who throws it back with way more strength. Boruto dodges his own projectile and lets it fly hundreds of meters away in the forest, a bit frightened by how dangerous it seemed.
Bijudama
Sick of his opponent wasting his time, Mikitaka quickly gathers the power of the 4 Biju inside him in a chakra orb that he immediately shoots to his opponent. Boruto sees it coming and raises his hands, hoping to stop it bare handed before it explodes.
Chidori Kuhekisho
With both his hands covered in lightning, he strikes with his palms and confronts the orb that is twice his size. He manages to slow it down just for a moment before understanding that he's clearly not strong enough for this. He quickly thinks of a different approach to get rid of this chakra ball.
Hiraishin
Thanks to the formula he had put on the kunai that Mikitaka threw away in the forest, he transports the Bijudama away, and in result, provokes a massive explosion further away from the village. An explosion powerful enough to break the ground all the way to the entrance of the capital. The soldiers of both armies, and Boruto as well, are all troubled and try not to fall off from this sudden shake.
Seeing this blast, Boruto realizes how significantly superior the jinchuriki is to him. He remembers his ancestor who came to visit his dream 2 months ago and his message. Hamura told him that the awakening of his true self will come at the right time. This seems like a great occasion to pull it off. Seeing that his opponent is losing his grip, Mikitaka leaps forward and tries to strike him down with a tail. Boruto is however still focused enough to stop this.
Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho (Protective 8 Tigram 64 Palms)
He strikes repeatedly to create a chakra wall above him that stops the tail. Not yet at his best, Mikitaka raises his tail again and tries to plunge all 9 of them down at once. Boruto counters it with a better jutsu.
Hakkesho Kaiten
He makes a whole barrier by making his chakra spin around him. But it barely holds back the power of the Kyubi that slowly crushes this dome until making it snap. Boruto is crushed down with his protection by the Biju's tails. Mikitaka then lands on the Hyuga's lying body and holds him by the neck. On his other hand, he lengthens his nails into sharp claws that he tries to push through his enemy's face.
Boruto holds two of these deadly claws and uses all his strength to hold them back. Because of his missing eye, he can't even see the face of the monster while he's struggling. However, he can clearly feel the heat and power of another chakra orb being gathered at the beast's mouth. Stuck in this immediate danger situation, he thinks of Hamura again and tries to figure out how to trigger this true power..
Still at death's door, he focuses on his enemy, and reminds himself of what it means to beat him. Shukaku, Matatabi, Saiken and Kurama. These are the four beasts trapped in an illusion and sequestrated in this bastard's body. He needs to free them, and to save his father. He'll be able to do that only by first defeating this guy who's so arrogantly using a power that he didn't even collect for himself.
As he feels the heat of the chakra orb get higher and higher in his blind spot, and as the claws he's trying to stop start to scratch his face, the purple chakra emerges from his eyes again.
"What the hell is this shit?" Mikitaka says, seeing both Boruto's eyes being covered in this misty matter.
Boruto recognizes this odd reaction that already happened against Kawaki. But it doesn't make him any more confident. He's struggling to keep up, and this energy leak will likely just be stopped like last time. Suddenly, just as he's about to give up, he's overtaken by a feeling of self-confidence and lack of concern.
"Why would I worry about this?" he asks himself. "This bastard is nothing compared to me. I'm far stronger than him. There's no way he ever beats me!"
Striving with confidence, he abruptly manages to push the monster's clawy hand down and away from his face. However, this arrogance is short lived, as he only managed to redirect the deadly strike. Startled by this sudden rush, Mikitaka pushes harder and, instead of tearing off Boruto's face, stabs through his chest with all his fingers.
The Hyuga makes a shocked face and looks down to see himself impaled. Mikitaka laughs out at the ninja's pointless struggle and clenches his fingers to tear his insides apart. Boruto's arms fall off. For a moment, he thinks he just overestimated himself, but quickly changes his mind as he focuses again. The purple light emitted from his eyes was slowly fading away as his hope went down, but is shining brighter than ever now.
To stop this leak, he closes his eyelids and contains the chakra and light that he encloses within his eyes. Having let go of any resistance, he calms down and stops worrying. He was right. He doesn't need any struggle. He is mightier than his enemies, and will overcome this easily. As he lets go, eyes closed and oddly accepting, he loses consciousness. Mikitaka, who was confused for a moment, throws his corpse away.
On the other side of the battlefield, Oshio and Izuna interrupt their starting fight as they notice Boruto's chakra having vanished. In the castle of the feudal family, Kawaki looks through a window, unsettled by the same feeling. Mikitaka, who still has a prepared Bijudama, stops bothering himself with this enemy, and shoots his massive projectile toward the battling armies, thoughtlessly attempting to destroy everything.
"You have to let go of your present self, and accept your reincarnation to embrace who you truly are." Hamura's voice speaks again in one's mind just as the Bijudama is deflected and sent away in the forest. It explodes and erases an even larger area than the previous one. The jinchuriki confusingly looks forward, to see who stopped his attack so easily.
The might of a thousand Byakugan. The power to heal the world and to create life. Boruto remembered these symbolic words. By finally letting his past self go, his true nature is brought to the surface. This reincarnation comes to bring meaning to the divine power in his new eyes. The Tenseigan, that he awakened exactly like Hamura did 1200 years ago.
Before him, Mikitaka sees Hyuga Boruto covered in a purple aura that shapes and dips into his clothes to turn into a chakra cloak.
Tensei Chakra Mode
Seeing this new state, with flaming purple chakra covering Boruto's skin and clothes, the jinchuriki rages and leaps forward to attack once again. But this time, the young Konoha-nin counters with ease, full of confidence, and aims directly to end this battle.
Kinbo Tensei Baku
Boruto strikes with a palm in Mikitaka's stomach, emitting a mass of his chakra that passes through the Biju chakra mantle and grips on it, After going fully through Mikitaka, this chakra mass forcefully pushes the jinchuriki out of his cloak, undoing his transformation, absorbing his chakra, and leaving him unconscious on the spot, defeated in a single strike.
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On the other side of the battle field, Oshio and Izuna suddenly sense a massive chakra emerge. Izuna feels relief, already recognizing his friend. For Oshio to understand, he waits and sees Boruto Hyuga fly up to the sky, in a purple chakra mantle.
"How convenient!" Kakumei's leader repeats again, not really sure of what this is, but certain that this means trouble.
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Boruto, flying above the battlefield, analyzes his own self and feels an unprecedented satisfaction.
"You sure weren't kidding, old man." he says, referring to Hamura. "This… feels so good!"
Eager to test his own new self, he looks toward the castle of the Daimyo where he senses his rival, Kawaki, in action. Having already marked him with a jutsu formula, he makes use of it again.
Hiraishin
In the castle, Boruto appears in the Daimyo's security room, standing near the door, and sees Kawaki, on his knees in a puddle of blood, using his staff to stand up and step out of a pile of corpses. The corpses of the Daimyo, his guards and all his family. Kawaki stares at Boruto right in the eyes, a pair of bright blue eyes shining like the sun. His blind right eye has fully healed and works just as fine as the left now.
"It's too late for this, Boruto." Kawaki says, with a sorry voice. "It's over for this city, and for this land."
Boruto slowly looks around, making sure it's just them two, and replies.
"Honestly, I don't give a shit about whoever this old man or his friends were. I don't care about this city. I don't care about the feudal system or anything. I'm here for one sole reason. Bringing Kakumei down. And most of all, defeat you."
Kawaki surprisingly looks at Boruto, washes off the guilt from his face, and breathes in.
"I too used to be so focused on adversity and power only." he says. "Believe it or not, but back when I was just an orphanage kid, I used to dream of being adopted by your father."
Boruto makes a flattered face, not sure if he should be saddened or amused by this fact.
"But I'm far from this childish naivety." Kawaki completes.
Shojo
He activates the seal on his left hand and lets it propagate on his arm and face. Then, he raises his staff and crashes it into the ground. Smashing all the levels below, bringing Boruto and him to fall all the way to the castle's entrance where they calmly land.
"This time there won't be anyone to interrupt our fight." Kawaki says to Boruto who smiles and gets in position.
.
End of Chapter 102 – Next Chapter: True Origins