Chapter 355: The Great Dark Heaven
What Boruto saw was a man's frost-covered head—the very man he had trusted: the corrupted Shunhi.
"Uncle Shunhi…"
"Shunhi?" Empress Akshia frowned. "Now that you mention it, I think his full name was Uchiha Shunhi…"
Having evolved using Sakura's body, Akshia had naturally inherited part of Sakura's memories.
"No way… there's no way he could be a member of the Great Dark Heaven…"
Boruto's face was full of disbelief. The revelation that Shunhi, someone he had trusted, was actually part of the enemy had struck him hard.
"Nothing is impossible," Empress Akshia said, gazing at the completely defenseless Boruto. At the moment, she had no intention of attacking him. Logically speaking, it would've made sense to kill her enemies who had attacked her when she was still in her beast form.
But it didn't matter. Once the entire ninja world became her kingdom, everyone would freeze to death anyway.
With that thought, Empress Akshia slowly walked away, leaving Boruto alone.
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village
Sasuke had already been handed over to Tsunade for treatment.
Meanwhile, Naruto, Obito, and Shikamaru gathered to discuss their next move.
After listening to Naruto's explanation, Shikamaru's face grew grim. There was no doubt about it—anyone who could easily defeat the corrupted Shunhi had to be immensely powerful. And Empress Akshia's mention of the "Great Dark Heaven" made Shikamaru's head hurt even more.
"Sakura, huh… I think it's more likely that after using Sakura's body, she was influenced by Sakura's emotions. So if it comes down to it, we might be able to sway her through emotional appeal. As for the Great Dark Heaven, let's focus on the problem at hand first."
"Honestly, I've already hit the ceiling of what's possible in the ninja world. There's very little room left for growth, so…" Naruto turned toward Obito. "Captain, is there a way to get stronger from the Hydra?"
"The Hydra's method for gaining power…"
Seeing the hesitation on Obito's face, Naruto couldn't help showing a look of disappointment.
It made sense. From a Jar Merchant with no combat skills to the Hydra captain who fought using body reinforcement and sturdy shield tools, neither of them gave the impression of being truly powerful.
"Brother-in-law! Shikamaru!"
Hanabi came rushing over in a hurry.
"What is it, Hanabi?" Naruto immediately stepped forward and asked.
Due to the unique abilities of the Byakugan, Shikamaru had assigned the Hyūga clan to monitor the situation in the village.
"I found Boruto—I brought him back."
While monitoring, Hanabi had spotted Boruto stumbling out through the Hidden Leaf Village gates and immediately brought him back.
"Boruto!"
Seeing his son safe, Naruto finally felt some of the weight on his shoulders lift.
"Dad…"
Seeing Boruto's heavy expression, Naruto asked, "What's wrong, Boruto?"
"Dad… Uncle Shunhi is one of the Great Dark Heaven."
Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a look. Then Naruto asked, "How do you know this?"
"I met Aunt Sakura—Akshia. She told me herself. She also said she plans to freeze the entire ninja world to boost her strength and fight the Great Dark Heaven. The Great Dark Heaven is an organization whose goal is to plunge the entire universe into darkness and then rule over it."
Boruto told Naruto and Shikamaru everything he had learned from Empress Akshia.
"What?!"
Freezing the entire ninja world—that would be an event far greater in scale than even the Great Ninja Wars.
This time, their enemy was even harder to deal with. Plus, the Land of Water had already been wiped out, and with it, Kirigakure was no more. That left only four Hidden Villages they could still contact.
"By the way, Boruto," Naruto looked at him, "Can you teach me that Super Saiyan mode of yours?"
"…Yeah."
Boruto nodded.
The way to awaken Super Saiyan mode was through rage.
"Dad, think about something that makes you angry."
"Angry?" Naruto scratched his head, frowning in concentration.
"This is bad. I don't think I've ever seen Naruto angry," Shikamaru said from the side.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, it's Hinata who tends to get angry more often," Naruto said with a laugh.
"Hey Boruto, is that how you learned it too?" Shikamaru asked.
"No… back then it was Shunhi… He taught me directly, using a special method, and I just instantly got it."
Boruto replied vaguely.
"So Naruto could learn it the same way?"
Shikamaru asked quickly.
"Probably, but I don't know how to do it myself, so we'll have to stick with the original method for now."
"Anger… anger…"
Naruto stood to the side, clenching his fists and trying hard to appear angry. While he did that, Boruto entered his Super Saiyan mode and used his chakra to guide Naruto's, saying, "It has to be real anger—not just acting."
"But it's really hard…"
Having never truly experienced anger, Naruto didn't even know what it felt like. After all, he was the reincarnation of Asura.
"…Dad, think about what happened to Himawari."
Since Himawari's death, no one in the family had dared bring her up, afraid of causing more grief.
Though the dominant feeling was sorrow, there was still some anger mixed in.
Faint ripples of chakra started to rise around Naruto's body, appearing and vanishing. Boruto poured even more of his Super Saiyan chakra outward, hoping to spark something through resonance—but in the end, it still failed.
"We were so close…"
Boruto, breathing heavily, muttered with some frustration.
"Sorry, Boruto… maybe this mode really just doesn't suit me. I'll have to find another way to get stronger."
Naruto smiled as he spoke.
"The Hydra…" Boruto suddenly mentioned, "The parallel ninja world. Back then, Sarada and I both improved our strength in those worlds."
"We've considered the parallel worlds, but the gains seem limited," Shikamaru said, stroking the small beard on his chin.
Whether it was the second Nine-Tails or Sarada awakening the Rinnegan and Wood Style, none of it had made a significant difference in the current crisis.
"No, what I mean is: Dad can experience anger firsthand through training in the parallel ninja world. That might help him learn the Super Saiyan mode."
Boruto explained.
"That might work. What do you think, Shikamaru?" Naruto looked to Shikamaru for input.
"Yeah… it's not impossible. But if we're doing that, Boruto will have to go with you."
After all, Naruto would still need Boruto's Super Saiyan chakra to guide his own in learning the mode.
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