Chapter 194:
Konoha Village, next to the Interrogation Room
Kawaki knelt on the ground, his face twisted in agony, groaning in pain.
"Hey, are you okay, Kawaki?!"
Boruto rushed over to him, his voice full of concern.
"Everyone, move aside!"
Tsunade stepped forward and knelt beside Kawaki, who had passed out from the pain. After using her chakra to scan his condition, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, Kawaki just lost consciousness..."
"That's a relief. But what happened to him just now?" Boruto asked in confusion.
"Hmm..." Tsunade was deep in thought. After all, Kawaki had suddenly contorted in pain without any warning. Then she happened to glance at his left hand. "The Kāma... it's gone!"
They carried the unconscious Kawaki into the interrogation room.
"Dad, look at this!" Boruto barged in with Kawaki in his arms. The others followed close behind, and soon the interrogation room became rather crowded.
"Amado, do you know what's going on?" Naruto looked at the empty palm of Kawaki's left hand and questioned Amado.
"It looks like this happened because Isshiki Ōtsutsuki abandoned his identity as an Ōtsutsuki. That's probably why the Kāma mark in Kawaki's palm, which represented him, vanished," Amado speculated.
Kara Organization's Base
Evilmoku cried out in pain, but as shadowy energy surged through his body, the natural fire from Flame Mountain was gradually extinguished.
"What?!"
"That was close—almost died there. Nice job, Koji Kashin." Evilmoku looked down at his unharmed body and nodded in satisfaction. "So, Mutant Beasts really are the proper direction for the evolution of the Ōtsutsuki race..."
"Damn it!" As Koji Kashin stepped back, Evilmoku suddenly vanished from his original spot and reappeared right in front of him, slamming a punch into his abdomen.
Koji was sent flying, crashing through a stone pillar and into the wall.
"Where do you think you're going, Koji?" Evilmoku rotated his wrist and said, "The fight's not over yet."
He walked over to Koji, who was just now staggering to his feet, grabbed him by the white hair, and smashed his head into the ground.
The impact was so strong it cracked the floor, but Koji only lost his mask—his head remained intact.
"As expected of a clone—your skull's pretty tough..." Evilmoku stared into Koji's eyes and sneered. "You thought I didn't know anything, didn't you, Koji? The spaceship crash that let Kawaki escape? That wasn't an accident—it was you who shot it down mid-flight and made it look like one. I was planning to kill you after I captured Kawaki myself, but it looks like you lost patience first."
"Isshiki Ōtsutsuki!"
Koji suddenly pressed his palms together. A blinding light burst forth, illuminating the entire Kara base.
Konoha Interrogation Room
The sudden radiance caused the live broadcast to cut off.
"What's going on, Amado?" Shikamaru asked.
"I didn't think Koji would go this far... I implanted a suicide bomb in his body for a last-resort scenario. That light likely came from its detonation, which also must have disrupted the scout toad's feed."
"So what happens to Koji after the explosion?" Naruto asked.
"...He dies. That much is certain," Amado replied as he took a puff from his cigarette. "As for Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, I don't know. But given his evolved form as a Mutant Beast, it's unlikely he'd die that easily. Still, even if we failed to kill him, we've obtained valuable intel on Isshiki, so overall, I'm satisfied with the outcome."
"Koji genuinely wanted to kill Isshiki—I could feel it..." Naruto fell silent for a moment, then added, "Did you explain to him in detail that this mission could cost him his life?"
"You seem to care about him, Lord Hokage," Amado said, eyes locked on Naruto.
"Koji is a clone... Amado, whose clone is he really?"
"...One of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha—Jiraiya," Amado answered, looking directly at Naruto.
In truth, Amado had never wanted this fact to be revealed, especially not to the people of Konoha.
After all, Jiraiya was the teacher of the current Hokage. Creating a clone of him could easily be seen as a form of disrespect.
"I see..." Naruto muttered. If this were earlier, he might've been angry, but now that he knew Jiraiya was still alive, he didn't take it to heart—especially since Koji had given his life to stop Isshiki.
"Everyone has their fate to bear. Jiraiya's fate was to bring about change. At the time, creating even the slightest chance to kill Isshiki was our only hope."
Amado hastily explained, but Naruto simply smiled and waved him off. Then he turned to Boruto and said, "Boruto, could you go get the Jar Merchant for me? I have some things I need to ask him."
Now that Isshiki had become a Mutant Beast, the only one familiar with such creatures was the Jar Merchant from Hydra.
"...Which Boruto do you mean?" Boruto glanced at Future Boruto beside him.
"Both of you. Go together."
Naruto replied with a helpless smile.
Konoha Village
Boruto and Future Boruto walked side by side through the streets.
Future Boruto wore a solemn expression, while present-day Boruto looked relaxed and carefree.
"What's up, Boruto?" present-day Boruto asked, feeling strange asking himself a question.
"The future has changed."
"What do you mean?"
Present-day Boruto stopped abruptly and asked.
"In my future, Isshiki never became a Mutant Beast..." Future Boruto glanced down at his own body and continued, "It seems that even though Isshiki became a Mutant Beast in this timeline, the outcome—Ninja World's destruction due to a bioweapon crisis—still hasn't changed."
"How do you know that?"
Faced with the question, Future Boruto gave a bitter smile and said, "Just a guess..."
"A guess, huh... No matter what, I believe the future can change. The ninja world and shinobi won't go down so easily."
Boruto strode ahead, full of confidence.