Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
"Well? What's the status of their battle?"
Seeing Eida open her eyes, Nara Shikamaru could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked the stunningly beautiful woman on the video screen. It wasn't just him; Sarada, the other youngsters, the Seventh Hokage, and the others waiting for news all wore similar expressions. Due to the unique nature of Eida's abilities, even though they were in the same village, they could only communicate through this special method.
"For you all, it should be considered good news. Following Sunagakure, Iwagakure has also suffered heavy losses in the battle against Kawaki and the other two" Eida said, her bewitching eyes glinting with an intrigued light as she addressed the group on the other side of the screen.
"How is that good news?" Sarada asked, looking at her father in confusion.
Uchiha Sasuke merely shook his head, offering no explanation.
"Code, with his limiter removed, is his strength already at a level that even Boruto and Kawaki can't suppress?" Yamanaka Ino couldn't help but look at the Seventh Hokage, who was in deep thought with his head bowed. She was responsible for Konoha's sensory barrier and had, on more than one occasion, been terrified by the chakra leaked during Boruto and Kawaki's training. Sometimes, she even suspected that Boruto and Kawaki had already reached the level of the Seventh Hokage and the others—at their current stage.
A ninja's strength is constrained by physical factors. Around the age of twenty is roughly the peak of a ninja's strength, after which it begins to decline. The Seventh Hokage and Uchiha Sasuke might possess powerful Kekkei Genkai that could extend this peak for a while. But the Seventh Hokage had spent a long time sitting in an office, neglecting combat, and his current strength was no longer as formidable as it had been during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Uchiha Sasuke, moreover, had lost an arm...
"According to Amado, the reason Code had a limiter placed on him was because his strength threatened the leader of Kara—Jigen. And you all are presumably aware of Jigen's strength..." Nara Shikamaru glanced at the Seventh Hokage and Sasuke beside him and didn't continue. That was a ruthless individual who had fought two-on-one, sealed one, and crippled the other.
"In other words, he is Kara's true strongest member?" Yamanaka Ino felt her scalp tingle. If Kara had interfered during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, what would have become of the shinobi world then?
"A correction: Code with his limiter removed is stronger than Jigen, but weaker than Otsutsuki Isshiki," Eida said, lightly tapping her chin with a jade-like finger as she looked at the woman who had asked the question on the video feed. The two of them were quite similar, both being women who specialized in intelligence.
"Aren't Otsutsuki Isshiki and Jigen the same person?" Sarada felt her little brain short-circuiting.
"Jigen was merely a barely usable puppet for Otsutsuki Isshiki." After helping her clear up her thoughts, Nara Shikamaru stared intently at the woman on the screen. "Then, what about you?" Before agreeing to join Konoha, this bewitching woman had been Code's partner, possessing bizarre and powerful abilities.
"Me?" Eida smiled sweetly. Instantly, everyone felt their hearts couldn't help but accelerate. Regardless of gender, the weaker ones like Sarada and the other youngsters even blushed slightly, looking as if they were smitten. "I'm not a member of Kara."
"Seventh Hokage, Sasuke, how do you feel?" Nara Shikamaru asked within the secret communication channel Yamanaka Ino had established.
The Seventh Hokage caught the expressions of the others, who looked like animals in heat at the arrival of spring. "Perhaps it's just because it's through a screen, but I just feel she's even more beautiful."
"Me too," Uchiha Sasuke said. He possessed the Rinnegan; his resistance to this kind of 'charm jutsu' was higher than anyone else present. But to be honest, he wasn't entirely confident he could face the bewitching woman on the screen directly. Perhaps he wouldn't be like the others, unable to move his legs upon seeing her, but his combat effectiveness would definitely be affected.
"I suggest we arrange an identity for Kawaki," Nara Shikamaru said, sighing lightly with relief. If Konoha's two core combatants were affected as negatively as they were, then they'd truly be finished.
"I agree." Knowing that Shikamaru wanted to use Kawaki to tie this woman to Konoha's chariot, Uchiha Sasuke, despite disliking such methods, didn't object.
"I've always wanted to do that, but you all never agreed," the Seventh Hokage had even fewer objections.
"Haven't the conditions changed now..." Nara Shikamaru sighed. Who could have imagined Kawaki's potential was so heaven-defying? "Also, Seventh Hokage, the strength of both Sunagakure and Iwagakure has declined to varying degrees. Shouldn't we make preparations?"
"...Let's ask Kakashi-sensei to make a trip to the border," the Seventh Hokage, no longer the ignorant brat he once was, naturally understood Nara Shikamaru's meaning. Relations between nations were always maintained by interests. Although the destruction in Iwa and Suna wasn't Konoha's intention, Boruto had ultimately been involved. If Code continued to spread the flames of war to other shinobi villages, they would have to consider the possibility of Konoha being targeted by the other villages. After all—with the strength of the other four great shinobi villages diminished, if Konoha's didn't also decline, the other villages wouldn't feel at ease.
"Ino, please."
"I've already sent out the notifications."
"Kawaki, how are you doing?" Boruto wiped the blood from his forehead and asked his comrade in a low voice.
"Chakra's almost bottomed out. We have to find a way to absorb a puppet," Kawaki panted heavily.
"I'll create an opportunity for you." Boruto's gaze was fixed deadly on Code in the distance.
Easier said than done. The difficulty of actually doing it was off the charts. Code had already figured out their fighting style. The moment he detected any intention from them to absorb a puppet, he would immediately use his spatial ability to move the puppet far away, cutting off their chakra source.
"If you can't hold on, just go find your daddies," Code, half-buried in a Zetsu-like puppet, using it to recover his own chakra, taunted the two who were whispering to each other. Boruto and Kawaki's chakra had been on the verge of depletion multiple times, and he was no different. Fortunately, these puppets were fragmented from the Ten-Tails and possessed chakra sources independent of him. Using them for his spatial abilities didn't consume his own chakra; he could even use these puppets to recover his own chakra. That was how he had managed to hold out against the two of them until now. Traveling through various shinobi villages, his enemies weren't just these two bastards, but also the powerful ninja from each village.
Poof!
Boruto ignored him and threw a smoke bomb to the ground. Using the brief visual obstruction, Kawaki used his scarce remaining chakra to create a shadow clone, while his real body shrank to the size of an ant and sped through a crack in the ground, rushing towards the nearest puppet.
Boruto let out a light breath. He made a gripping motion with his right hand and, using the power of Karma, materialized a sharp black rod. He drew back slightly, power rising from the ground, up his spine. His gaze locked onto Code in the distance, and he violently hurled the black rod in his hand.
Wherever the black rod passed, rubble flew, adding an imposing air to its trajectory.