Behind Konoha, in the shattered hills beyond the village.
Boruto stared wide-eyed at the broken terrain. Cracked rock, collapsed slopes, scorched ground. It looked like the aftermath of a small war.
"Dad… this is where you train?" he asked.
"Yeah," Naruto replied, scratching his cheek. "If I trained inside the village, I'd get yelled at. So I come here."
Boruto swallowed. "You did all this just by training?"
Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Well… yeah."
Boruto didn't laugh. He just stood there, stunned. Training alone had reshaped the land. The gap between him and his father suddenly felt enormous.
"There's not much else to see," Naruto said. "Let's head back."
Boruto nodded. He'd insisted on coming here. Now that he'd seen it, he felt oddly small.
Then a voice drifted down from above.
Naruto looked up, puzzled.
Boruto's expression changed instantly. His body stiffened as he turned toward the sky.
Floating above them, calm and mocking, was a pale figure holding a crimson fishing rod.
"Urashiki," Boruto hissed.
So it was just the two of them after all.
Urashiki looked down at Boruto with open irritation. "You really do love getting in my way. Fine. I'll deal with you while I'm here."
Naruto clenched his fists, chakra stirring. "So you're Urashiki."
Urashiki's grin widened. "At last. Uzumaki Naruto."
The red hook snapped forward, the line screaming through the air.
"Dad, don't let that hook touch you!" Boruto shouted.
"Wasn't planning to," Naruto said.
His hands blurred.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The mountainside exploded with motion as dozens of Narutos appeared at once. Boruto's jaw dropped.
So many…?
Before he could think further, one clone intercepted the hook.
"Boruto, fall back," Naruto said calmly.
Boruto obeyed, retreating behind the clones.
Urashiki frowned. "Annoying numbers."
Naruto's gaze hardened. "You think this is all?"
Wind surged.
"Wind Style: Gale Armor."
Translucent armor formed around Naruto and every single clone. Invisible currents wrapped their bodies, humming with pressure.
Naruto clenched his fist and smiled.
This wasn't just training anymore. This was proof.
Urashiki felt it too. The air itself resisted him.
"So troublesome," he murmured.
He swung the rod again.
"Celestial Hook Barrage."
Hooks rained down.
Naruto struck the air.
Invisible palms of wind slammed upward, swatting hooks aside and continuing toward Urashiki.
Urashiki clicked his tongue. His pale eyes shifted, turning a deep blue.
The wind palms skimmed past him, every single one missing by a hair.
Naruto's eyes widened. "How…?"
Urashiki laughed. "I can see the future."
Naruto snorted. "Then look again."
The wind armor shattered outward. All clones detonated into a single, massive storm that filled the sky.
Urashiki's smile vanished.
At the same instant, a hidden clone dispersed.
Naruto's eyes turned gold.
Sage Mode.
In his palm, a familiar shape formed.
"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
Urashiki tried to move.
He couldn't.
The storm pinned him in place.
The Rasenshuriken tore through the air.
At the last moment, Urashiki twisted away, laughing wildly as it grazed past him.
"Still useless!"
Naruto didn't answer.
He vanished.
Urashiki scoffed. "You can't fly."
Naruto appeared in front of him and struck.
Urashiki dodged.
And still got hit.
An invisible force slammed into his face, sending him crashing into the ground.
Boruto stared. "He couldn't even see it…"
Naruto landed, already moving again.
Urashiki dodged once more.
And was hit again.
"Impossible!" Urashiki snarled.
Then his body scattered into glowing red paper cranes.
Naruto halted, breathing heavily.
The cranes reformed at a distance. Urashiki reappeared, battered and furious.
Boruto clenched his fists, eyes shining. His dad was incredible.
Naruto felt the strain now. Sage chakra was nearly gone.
Red chakra flared around him.
The Nine-Tails answered.
Urashiki grimaced. This was getting out of hand.
A purple arrow screamed through the sky.
Urashiki barely avoided it.
A towering purple warrior stood in the distance.
Susanoo.
"Sasuke!" Boruto shouted.
Two figures arrived. Both calm. Both deadly.
Naruto glanced at the Susanoo in awe. "That's your Mangekyō ability?"
"Yeah," Sasuke said. "You good?"
Naruto grinned. "Never better."
Urashiki looked at them, jaw tight.
Too many enemies.
He made his choice.
Lightning erupted above them, forming a massive beast.
"Enjoy your own attack."
Kirin descended.
"Get inside!" Sasuke shouted.
Naruto dove beneath Susanoo's protection.
Behind Urashiki, space tore open.
"He's escaping," the older Sasuke said sharply.
Sasuke hurled a kunai.
Urashiki slipped away, vanishing into the裂.
The rift closed.
Only Kirin remained, roaring down from the sky.