Chapter 22: Boruto vs. Shuyu
Unlike the Ninja Academy in the Hidden Leaf Village, the combat curriculum at the Hidden Mist Village's academy took up a much larger proportion, with swordsmanship training being the most crucial part.
"This is where the students of the Hidden Mist Village's Ninja Academy train in swordsmanship," Kagura explained to the group.
At that moment, a class was in the middle of sword training. The students were paired off in twos, sparring with wooden swords while standing on the surface of rippling water.
"That's incredible. We train in taijutsu too, but we've never taken swordsmanship to this level. And fighting on water—that's just too cool," Boruto said from the observation platform, gripping the railing. Then he turned to Kagura, who was standing beside him. "Kagura, can I give it a try?"
Boruto had clearly inherited Naruto's energetic and impulsive nature from his younger days.
"Well, class is almost over anyway. If you want to give it a try, go ahead."
Kagura nodded in agreement.
"Awesome!" Boruto exclaimed. He hopped over the railing and leapt down onto the water's surface. Though he fumbled a bit at first, he quickly steadied his footing. Then he looked up at the platform and called out, "Hey, Shuyu, come down and fight me!"
"What is that idiot trying to pull now?"
Sarada glanced worriedly at Uchiha Itachi standing next to her. When she saw him shake his head, she relaxed a little.
"Sigh, not gonna accept the challenge? Let me see what you've got. Or... are you afraid you might lose to me?"
Boruto's provocation didn't faze Uchiha Itachi at all.
"Since we're all ninja here, if we want to become friends, maybe it's best to start by understanding each other's strength."
Kagura chimed in after hearing Shuyu's name, hoping to persuade Uchiha Itachi as well. He was curious to see the power of someone capable of controlling his grandfather's Sharingan.
"...Alright."
Uchiha Itachi reluctantly agreed. Mimicking Boruto, he vaulted over the railing and landed smoothly on the water's surface with flawless form.
"Then I'll act as the referee."
Among everyone present, Kagura—being unaffiliated with the Hidden Leaf—was the most suitable person to referee the match.
"Okay, I'll leave it to you, Kagura!" Boruto shouted from below.
"I now declare the match—begin!"
The instant Kagura spoke, Boruto charged at Uchiha Itachi, initiating a simple straight punch.
Uchiha Itachi didn't even activate his Sharingan. With a slight sidestep, Boruto's fist merely brushed past his shoulder before Itachi extended his palm and gently shoved him away.
"Darn, I almost got you!"
Boruto stopped himself a few steps back and grumbled.
"That was close," Sarada murmured instinctively.
While most of the onlookers—who weren't even ninja yet—thought Boruto had nearly landed a hit, Kagura, a seasoned Chūnin, had already assessed the situation: if Itachi wasn't holding back, Boruto stood no chance.
"Shuyu, I'm getting serious now!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Boruto charged again.
Same move again? Uchiha Itachi speculated. But just as Boruto reached him and Itachi was about to sidestep once more, Boruto abruptly halted, kicked up a splash of water to obscure Itachi's vision...
When the water fell, Boruto reappeared—but this time, he was attacking with a kick instead of a punch.
Itachi still evaded easily and responded with another shove.
Boruto immediately turned into a puff of white smoke.
"That was the Shadow Clone Jutsu! So that splash of water... he used it as a cover to create the clone!"
"Still, to be able to gather and channel chakra that quickly to perform ninjutsu… As expected of the Seventh Hokage's son," Kagura analyzed from the sidelines.
"This doesn't look good for Shuyu, does it?" Sarada asked anxiously, watching the two battle on the water's surface.
While she cared for both Boruto and Itachi, Itachi was one of the few Uchiha peers her age, and she was more concerned for him.
Still, she didn't want either of them to get hurt.
"No, you haven't noticed? Shuyu hasn't even activated his Sharingan yet," Kagura replied.
Even though he had praised Boruto earlier, Kagura still believed Shuyu had the upper hand.
The battle below continued.
With Boruto no longer in sight, his remaining attack options were limited to the sky or underwater.
But in such a short time and at such close range, Itachi would easily detect any movement beneath the surface.
That meant Boruto could only be coming from above.
Itachi instantly looked up.
"Take this!"
Though Itachi had already deduced it, Boruto revealed his position early by shouting.
Itachi sighed, stepped back, and pulled a kunai from his ninja pouch.
He smoothly dodged Boruto's aerial strike. As Boruto landed and struggled to maintain footing on the water, Itachi brought the kunai to Boruto's neck.
"Match over! Winner—Uchiha Shuyu!"
Kagura declared the result at just the right moment.
"You're really something, Shuyu. You figured out my attack direction in an instant," Boruto said with a laugh, scratching his head, completely unfazed by his public defeat.
"...If you hadn't shouted and given away your position midair, I wouldn't have picked up on it so fast," Itachi replied as he and Boruto ran up the wall back to the observation platform.
Children from noble clans like them had been practicing basic techniques like walking on water, climbing trees, and scaling walls since early childhood.
"Both Boruto and Shuyu were amazing."
"But Shuyu, I understand that you don't want to hurt your friends. Still, being concerned about a friend getting injured is one thing. Respecting your opponent and fighting with everything you've got is another," Kagura said with a smile as he walked over.
"Wait—Shuyu wasn't going all out? Oh, right, he never even used his Sharingan. Shuyu really is something," Boruto said innocently, not picking up on Kagura's underlying implications, while Itachi caught on immediately: Kagura was trying to sow discord between them.
"Well then, let's continue with the tour," Kagura said, leading the group toward their next destination.
As the group walked, Mitsuki quietly took Itachi's hand, and the two gradually fell behind the others.
"Shuyu, looks like Kagura Kokuju isn't as sunny as he seems on the surface," Mitsuki said with a soft warning.
Itachi only nodded silently, then rejoined the group, moving to stand next to Sarada and Boruto.
Though Mitsuki meant well, Itachi had always remained cautious of anyone associated with Orochimaru.
"Looks like I've been marked," Mitsuki murmured with a smile as he watched Itachi's back from the rear of the group.
That smile bore a striking resemblance to Sai's—enough to make one wonder about the true nature of the connection between Sai and Orochimaru.