The morning sun slowly rose, sweeping away the thick black mist over Kirigakure, but sadly unable to dispel the stench of blood and char around it.
Boruto stood atop the ruins, wiping blood from his short sword, gazing blankly at the battlefield around him, feeling an indescribable sadness and shock.
This was real war!
No longer the small skirmishes of his past adventures, but a true, bloody massacre!
No right or wrong, no justice—just life or death!
*SWISH!*
Suddenly, a kunai shot from behind Boruto, aiming straight for his head.
Boruto tilted his body slightly, a cold glint flashing in his hand, instantly deflecting the kunai.
The attacker was a Kirigakure Genin who had been targeting Boruto for a while. Though Kirigakure had surrendered, a few rebels still hid in the ruins, attempting silent counterattacks.
Seeing his attack fail, the ninja charged at Boruto. But a second later, before he could get close, Kawaki struck from the side, killing him instantly. An inorganic blade formed from Kawaki's right hand pierced through the enemy.
"Idiot, why are you spacing out?" Kawaki retracted the blade, turning to Boruto, scolding him with clear displeasure.
"He couldn't hurt me." Boruto sheathed his sword, answering curtly.
"Tch… So, how's your war tally? I killed seven Kirigakure ninjas, one a Jōnin. What about you?"
"I killed three, disabled nineteen."
"Hmph! Why not kill them all? Why leave threats for yourself? You're still so naive—how can you save Konoha like this?"
"If necessary, I won't show mercy. Besides, my business isn't your business, and you don't need to teach me how to handle it."
Boruto wasn't angry at Kawaki, just annoyed by his disregard for human life.
But what could he do? Kawaki wasn't as fortunate as him, born with a golden spoon. Raised in a nutrient tank as Jigen's experimental subject since childhood, Kawaki was utterly indifferent to human norms, let alone empathizing with other ninjas.
"I don't want to meddle with you. I'm just afraid your softness will ruin everything. You already killed your mom—I don't want you killing Naruto too!"
"What did you say?"
"Isn't what I said the truth?"
"Kawaki!"
"Boruto!"
The two friends started bickering again after just a few words. Fortunately, Koji appeared and stopped their argument, signaling that Sasuke was looking for them. The three quickly headed to Sasuke's location.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had just, with Amado and Mei's help, successfully occupied Kirigakure and declared the Fifth Ninja World War to the entire ninja world.
It's worth mentioning that after Sasuke returned to the Kara Organization's headquarters and captured Amado and Koji, the latter surrendered without hesitation.
This wasn't entirely due to Sasuke's intimidation. Amado had also noticed inconsistencies in his memories, and after examining Kawaki's body, he confirmed it had been modified by him, providing sufficient proof.
Sasuke's information about Omnipotence also made Amado realize Eida had activated the Divine Technique, altering everyone's memories.
Of course, Omnipotence's power wasn't limited to that. Even if you noticed the anomalies and learned the truth, you'd soon be forced to revert! It was like remembering something today but forgetting it after a night's sleep, repeating endlessly. More extreme still, it was like knowing your parents were replaced by impostors, recognizing the oddity, yet being corrected and manipulated by this power to believe the replaced parents were still your own. It was terrifying…
The feeling of knowing the truth but being forced to erase it was enough to drive someone mad.
Fortunately, as a top scientist, Amado had a simple countermeasure. He trusted empirical evidence over his memories, recording a warning video—"my memories have been manipulated"—on his projector glasses, set to replay automatically daily. Though it didn't address the root issue, it at least temporarily managed the symptoms.
It was like opening your phone daily to see a video of yourself not only stating your parents were replaced but also exposing your deepest fears. Even if your memories reset daily, you'd still try to verify it, right?
Of course, this only treated the symptom temporarily. In the long term, constantly conflicting memories could easily cause various mental issues. Insomnia and neural fatigue were minor problems; in severe cases, split personalities weren't impossible.
As for Kashin Koji? Though he hadn't awakened the Jūpo's Divine Technique, he basically followed Amado's lead. Plus, he wasn't immune to Sasuke's genjutsu, essentially receiving a daily dose of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu, making Koji a trusted ally.
With Amado and Koji's help, Sasuke quickly took control of the entire Konoha organization.
Don't underestimate the fact that only a few core Kara Organization members remained. The numerous outer members, along with abundant funds and technology, were still significant—overall, comparable to the power and value of a major village.
As a notorious evil organization, its name alone was perfect for waging war and creating conflict. Crucially, the Kara Organization was Isshiki's nest.
This "magpie occupying the crow's nest" tactic was sure to provoke the enemy's emotions and make it easier for them to seize the initiative. This was the effect Sasuke wanted.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Soon after, Boruto and the others found Sasuke.
The latter was sitting on the ruins, with Amado fawning on his left and Mei, humiliated, on his right.
"Sensei, you called for us?"
"How's the cleanup going?" Sasuke asked, expressionless, clearly ready to tread this bloody, sinful path.
"It's still ongoing but nearly complete. Most of the Kirigakure ninja rebels have been dealt with." Boruto had shed his childishness, reporting seriously.
The cleanup of remaining Kirigakure rebels wasn't just handled by the two of them but also by hundreds of Kara ninjas. They were simply led by Boruto, Kawaki, and Sasuke.
It had been over an hour since someone surrendered publicly, and the remaining rebels in Konoha had been almost entirely cleared out. Though Boruto was reluctant to slaughter, he still dutifully carried out his orders.
"Good. Since Kirigakure's resistance has been mostly crushed, it's time to get to the core issue."
"Just now, we've declared the Fifth Ninja War to the entire ninja world. A new war is about to break out!" Sasuke hid nothing, speaking frankly.
"The Fifth Ninja War?!?!"
Naruto was shocked, not expecting the ninja world war he'd heard as a childhood fairy tale to suddenly crash upon him.
He was even on the opposite side of Konoha and the world, the villain starting the war. This feeling left Boruto reeling.
"Will this save Konoha?" Naruto asked eagerly, unconcerned with war or morality, only caring about saving Naruto.
"Yes."
"Great! What do I do? Who do I kill?" Naruto was impatient, his conviction unshaken.
"Sensei, let me lead the charge in the next battle!" Naruto said heavily, his heart resolute.
Sasuke pondered for a moment, then continued:
"The next battle's Kumogakure in the next village. The samurai Raikage once 'took great care of me.' It was hard to settle scores before because of Konoha. This time is perfect to clear all debts. However, you two don't need to join the next major war—you have another task."
Boruto and Amado paused, confused about what task could be more important than joining the Konoha War?
"This war is just a diversion, conveniently drawing everyone's attention. During that time, I want you to secretly capture the samurai!" Sasuke explained.
"Samurai? Sensei, why do you want the samurai?"
"To grow a tree, of course."
"Huh?"
"Just a tree? I, Otsutsuki Sasuke, can't plant it? That chakra fruit, I, Otsutsuki Sasuke, can't eat it?"
"…"
Boruto: 彡ﾟДﾟミ
Amado: o(ﾟДﾟ)っ!
Kawaki: o_O ||
Everyone was stunned, wondering if Sasuke was truly addicted to pretending to be an Otsutsuki, even wanting to eat a chakra fruit?