Chapter 75:
"Mom, the finals are next."
"Big Brother's definitely going to win the championship, right?"
Hinata hesitated a moment before nodding in response to Himawari's question.
She had no confidence at all that Boruto could defeat Shuyu.
"Do your best, Boruto!"
Despite being his parents, Naruto and Hinata gave no encouragement before the final match. Instead, it was Hanabi, Boruto's aunt, who kept cheering him on.
"The final match: from the Hidden Leaf, Uzumaki Boruto versus from the Hidden Leaf, Uchiha Shuyu! Will both contestants please enter the arena!"
As Rock Lee's voice rang out, the cheers of the crowd in the Konoha Stadium roared to life while Shuyu and Boruto stepped into the arena.
"Don't you all think this feels familiar? An Uzumaki versus an Uchiha—Boruto versus Shuyu, just like Naruto versus Sasuke," Kurotsuchi remarked.
The other village leaders nodded in agreement. The similarity wasn't lost on the spectators either—like Sakura, for instance.
"Boruto, representing Naruto, and Shuyu, representing you… meeting in the finals. Would you call this fate continuing on?" Sakura said. "Shuyu, go for it!"
Sasuke nodded. "As long as Shuyu doesn't hold back, he should win this easily."
With a new opportunity to outshine Naruto in front of everyone, Sasuke couldn't help feeling pleased.
Meanwhile, sitting next to Sakura, Sarada instinctively clenched her fists.
She had always known that her father and the Seventh Hokage had been lifelong rivals. At one point, she'd hoped her relationship with Boruto might follow that same path. But instead, her father had chosen Uchiha Shuyu to carry on that rivalry with the Seventh.
"So in the end… it's because I'm just too weak…" Sarada murmured to herself.
"Hidden Leaf's Uzumaki Boruto versus Hidden Leaf's Uchiha Shuyu—final match begins now!"
Uchiha Itachi had no interest in this final.
Initially, Itachi had intended to clear the path for Sarada so she could take the championship. But after she was defeated by Shinki, he switched goals and decided to avenge her. That led him to fight his way to the final.
He planned to tussle a bit, then forfeit—just like Mitsuki had.
Mitsuki's deliberate surrender had been obvious enough that anyone with some insight could tell.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Four shadow clones appeared around Shuyu, each armed with a shuriken. In sync, they flung the weapons toward him.
"Explosive tags, huh…" With the enhanced vision of his three-tomoe Sharingan, Shuyu easily spotted the tags attached to the shuriken. He rapidly formed hand seals. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Such fast seals—my Sharingan can't even track them!"
Watching from the stands, Sarada's single-tomoe Sharingan struggled to follow Shuyu's hand movements.
Shuyu unleashed fireballs toward each shuriken with precise timing. All the explosive tags were ignited before they could reach him.
The resulting smoke cloud shrouded Shuyu's location, and a figure suddenly darted through the haze—Shuyu, wielding a shuriken, had closed in on Boruto for close-quarters combat.
Every strike Shuyu threw was perfectly measured. Boruto could only defend passively. He called his shadow clones over for help, but Shuyu neutralized them every time, striking during the brief gaps in Boruto's defense.
Ultimately, the clones only provided temporary relief. Once they were all taken out, Boruto was back to being on the defensive.
"Damn it… I can't put any distance between us. This is infuriating."
Boruto was clearly a ninjutsu-type ninja who needed time and space to form hand seals. But with no chance to get clear, he couldn't use his techniques at all.
"I have no choice…"
His small hand twitched, and a scroll dropped into it.
"Rasengan!"
A Rasengan formed instantly in his left palm—but missed.
Even though it had been rapidly conjured, Boruto's palm had trembled slightly beforehand. Shuyu noticed that tiny detail.
Though the attack didn't land, Shuyu still chose to back off and create some distance.
"Once more—Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two Boruto clones appeared behind him. They simultaneously used Wind Style: Gale Palm, and Boruto launched himself forward by planting his feet on their hands. "Rasengan!"
Using scientific ninja tools, Boruto once again unleashed the Rasengan.
"Chidori!"
Thanks to Shuyu's precise control, the two attacks clashed evenly.
"A draw, huh? Then let's try this next move!"
Boruto wasn't satisfied with just winning—he wanted to win impressively. So he chose to use the strongest ninjutsu stored in his scientific ninja tool: a move from the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi—Purple Electricity.
"Kakashi, that's one of your techniques, right? When did you teach it to Boruto?" Might Guy asked as he looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi's expression was stern as he shook his head. He knew for a fact he'd never taught Boruto that move.
Unless Boruto was the kind of genius who could master a jutsu after seeing it once, there was no other explanation. But could such a genius really exist?
As Boruto attacked, Uchiha Itachi thought to himself: The power of that technique… I'd have to use my true strength to block it. But doing that would expose me—and also reveal that Shunhi is the deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D. The ninja world isn't ready to face S.H.I.E.L.D. yet.
Itachi believed that defeating S.H.I.E.L.D. would require the five great villages to unite once again.
No one knew how many years S.H.I.E.L.D. had been preparing for their plans. They needed to be handled with extreme caution. If the organization simply went into hiding again, then when Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of the current generation grew old, the new wave of ninjas wouldn't be able to stop them.
The moment Itachi made his decision, he suddenly appeared in the spectator stands, sitting between Sakura and Sarada.
Using the power of his Rinnegan, Sasuke swapped places with Shuyu and appeared before Boruto. "Lightning Style: Chidori!"
"Sasuke… Uncle…?" Boruto instinctively took a step back upon seeing him.
Naruto's face darkened as he leapt from the village leader's viewing platform down to the arena.
"Hokage, what's going on?" Darui asked lazily, watching Naruto jump down.
"This whole exam has been a Konoha solo act. It's hard to stay interested," he added.
"He's probably going down to calm the contestants. After all, his son nearly killed his opponent," Kurotsuchi speculated.
Naruto landed behind Boruto, with Sasuke in front of him, sandwiching the boy between them. Naruto looked at Sasuke and said, "Thanks, Sasuke."
"Hm." Sasuke usually responded to gratitude with silence—but not when it came from Naruto.
Then Naruto turned to Boruto with a complex expression and suddenly raised his son's arm, exposing the scientific ninja tool strapped to his wrist.
"What's the meaning of this, Boruto?"
"Seriously? He can't even cheat properly?"
"If a student who usually scores fifty manages a passing grade with cheating, it's believable. But if they ace a test that way, it's suspicious. Especially one this hard."
Shunhi's voice rang out, full of disappointment.
"Hey, hey, isn't your focus a little off?" Kakashi interjected.
Still, the most important thing now was how Naruto would handle this situation. After all, it was his own son who'd brought disgrace upon him.
"This is a scientific ninja tool. Its use was strictly forbidden in this Chunin Exam."
"It allows a person to release jutsu without expending their own chakra—even replicate others' techniques. This goes against the purpose of the exam, which is to demonstrate individual ability."
"Therefore, Uzumaki Boruto is disqualified for using a banned item. Uchiha Shuyu is declared the champion."
After Naruto's announcement, murmurs spread through the crowd. No one questioned Shuyu's victory—his strength was widely acknowledged. What had shocked everyone was that the Hokage's own son had cheated.
"So this is the Hokage's fool of a son, huh? Not only did he fail to bring honor to his father, he brought shame instead," Shunhi said with a shake of his head, looking down at Boruto.
Compared to the Naruto of the past, Boruto was far behind.
Naruto reached out and removed Boruto's Leaf Village headband. "You're not fit to be a ninja. I'll lecture you later."
"A lecture? You, the Hokage, really have time to lecture me?"
Just as Naruto and Boruto's family drama began to unfold, an ill-timed interruption occurred.
"Aww, don't be so harsh on your son, Seventh."
"I originally planned to make the announcement during the awards ceremony, but oh well. Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Kage from other villages—this young lord made it this far thanks to the scientific ninja tool I developed. I hope each of your villages will consider launching your own scientific ninja tool research programs..."
As the scientist Katasuke spoke from below, the other Kage visibly perked up with interest.
"To show up just when Naruto's in a bad mood… does he really think Naruto can't whip up a Rasengan anymore?" Shunhi muttered as he looked at Katasuke.
"Hey! Knock it off, Katasuke!"
Scientific ninja tools—devices capable of arming ordinary people, even allowing them to become ninja.
If all five great villages began developing them, with enough manpower, a new ninja world war would be inevitable.
That was why Naruto had been limiting Katasuke's research funding.
"What's going on, old man?!"
Boruto, by now, also realized something wasn't right.
"The right time and the right person—it was the perfect opportunity to promote my scientific ninja tool. Don't take it personally, young master," Katasuke said with a smile.
---
"Things sure are getting lively down there."
Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, seated atop the floating shoulders of Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki, looked down at the Konoha Stadium.
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