Chapter 337: Tailed Beast Mode
"Precisely because the one he wants to kill is you… that's why I can't leave this place." Obito stared intently at the darkened Shunhi and glanced at the collapsed Naruto on the ground. "The more he wants to kill you, the more it proves how wary he is of you."
"Wary?" Dark Shunhi sneered at Obito. "I'm just being cautious. I'm eliminating that final one percent of uncertainty."
"Tch…"
Naruto gave a bitter smile as he looked at Obito.
At that moment, a golden figure descended from the sky—it was Boruto, who had entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. After helping to evacuate the villagers, he had finally rushed over to the main battlefield.
"Boruto? Why are you here?" Obito shot a glance at him. "This place is dangerous—get out of here, now!"
"No!" Boruto threw a glance at the battered Naruto behind Obito and said, "I've already decided—I'm going to become Hokage. As Hokage, I'll never abandon my village!"
"Boruto…" Naruto looked up at his son's figure, and for a moment, he was reminded of his younger self. "Boruto… come here a sec…"
"What is it, you idiot old man?"
Boruto frowned slightly and walked over to where Naruto lay.
"Boruto… give me your hand…"
"My hand?"
Though confused, Boruto still reached out with his right hand and placed it atop Naruto's.
In that instant, the scene before his eyes changed dramatically.
"Where… is this?"
Just moments ago they had been in the Hidden Leaf Village, yet now they were standing in an unfamiliar space. Boruto instinctively went on alert.
"No need to be tense, Boruto." The gravely injured Naruto was now perfectly fine as he stood beside him. "This is the spiritual realm shared between me and the Tailed Beasts."
As Naruto finished speaking, the nine Tailed Beasts surrounded them.
"Long time no see, everyone," Naruto greeted them with a smile. "Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki… and Kurama."
"Something must've happened if you're summoning us like this again," said the Eight-Tails, Gyuki.
"Is that brat next to you your son?" the Four-Tails, Son Goku, asked.
"I saw it all, Kurama—how you nearly got killed by the enemy," Shukaku said provocatively to Kurama.
"Hmph. Says the coward who hides inside a damn teapot."
Kurama and Shukaku immediately started arguing.
"…Everyone, calm down," Naruto said, looking around at the Tailed Beasts. "I want to ask for your power—to help me repel the enemy."
"If it's come to borrowing our strength… this enemy must be no joke," said the Five-Tails, Kokuo.
"Don't worry, Naruto—we'll lend you our power," Gyuki replied.
"Actually… this time, I'd like you to lend your power to my son—Uzumaki Boruto," Naruto added, casting a glance at Boruto beside him.
"To your son?" Saiken, the Six-Tails, looked down at Boruto.
"Yeah. To be honest, I can't fight anymore. So… I'm passing this battle to him."
"Your son? Can he handle it?"
While the Tailed Beasts no longer bore deep hatred for humans, total trust was another matter entirely. For them, Naruto was the only human they could truly rely on.
"I trust him. And besides…" Naruto scratched the back of his head with a grin. "He said he wants to become Hokage."
"…Fine."
The nine Tailed Beasts lit up one by one, each radiating their own unique chakra color.
Back in the Leaf Village—
Obito stood panting, shield raised in front of the darkened Shunhi. He kept glancing back at Naruto and Boruto, who were holding hands with their eyes closed.
Shunhi clasped his hands together, gathering blue energy between his palms.
Obito raised his shield in response.
"Instant Transmission… Kamehameha!"
The moment he fired the Kamehameha, Shunhi reappeared to Obito's left.
"Damn it! No time to block!"
Obito knew all too well how destructive that blast was—he had seen what it did to Sakura.
I'm done for. I'm really going to die… As the blazing blue energy shot toward him, images flashed in Obito's mind—not of himself, but of Kakashi… then Rin… and finally, Shunhi.
But the expected searing pain never came.
The Kamehameha had been deflected off-course by a single hand—easily knocked aside by a figure who had stepped in just in time.
The redirected blast struck an already-ruined building, causing some additional—but irrelevant—damage.
"Boruto…"
Obito stared at the figure before him, uncertain.
"It's him."
Naruto, now slightly recovered, struggled over to Obito's side. Just then, several figures arrived beside them.
"Naruto, are you alright?" Tsunade steadied him and began healing his injuries with medical ninjutsu, while Kakashi helped support Obito.
They had arrived a bit late after helping rescue other villagers.
"I'm okay, Granny Tsunade. What about the villagers?"
"All the villagers have been relocated outside the village, and their injuries have mostly been treated. So don't worry, Naruto," Tsunade reassured him as she continued healing.
"Naruto, should we help Boruto?" Kakashi asked, pointing to Boruto, who was locked in combat with the darkened Shunhi.
Naruto glanced at Boruto and shook his head. "No need. We wouldn't be able to help in a fight like that. We'd only get in his way."
"Boruto? That's Boruto?" Tsunade's eyes widened. "No wonder he looked familiar—I thought he was another one of Hydra's reinforcements."
"Only in Tailed Beast Mode… can you even stand a chance."
Boruto, now in full Tailed Beast Mode, and the Super Saiyan-mode Shunhi clashed fiercely, before both leapt apart.
"Sage Art: Lava Release—Rasenshuriken!"
A Rasenshuriken empowered by the Four-Tails Son Goku's chakra blazed in Boruto's raised right hand.
"Dragon Fist!"
The two attacks collided, setting off an enormous explosion. The intense heat from Boruto's Rasenshuriken, amplified by the blast, made the villagers outside feel like they were plunged into the height of summer.
When the blinding explosion faded, what appeared before everyone were hundreds of Borutos in Tailed Beast Mode—each holding a Rasenshuriken infused with Tailed Beast chakra.
"Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken!"
Hundreds of Rasenshuriken struck the darkened Shunhi, triggering a massive explosion.
The mask on Shunhi's face was long since shattered, revealing the true face of Uchiha Shunhi beneath.
"Uzumaki Boruto, huh… I'll remember you. We will meet again."
With those final words, Shunhi opened a dimensional rift and vanished inside.
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