Chapter 371: Hero Prison
"No! I absolutely refuse to die again!"
A twisted, feral expression appeared on Frieza's face as he controlled Naruto to hurl Sasuke into the air, then immediately turned and attempted to flee.
Lightning enveloped Naruto like a protective shield as he was flung, cushioning his fall as he landed on the ground.
"Contract: Bind!"
Frieza's body suddenly froze. Having rushed to escape without adjusting himself, he stumbled and fell flat onto the ground.
"Damn you!" Frieza snarled from the ground, turning his head to glare at Akshia. "If I can't escape, then you can forget about getting off easy either!"
Frieza got back to his feet and spread his arms toward the sky, letting out a piercing scream loud enough to echo across the entire universe.
Whenever a core member of the Great Dark Heaven encounters an opponent they cannot defeat—especially one who could threaten the organization's plans—they have the ability to transmit their location using this method. A space-time wormhole would then open, imprisoning the enemy inside the Hero Prison.
High above, a massive rift opened in the sky, unleashing an overwhelming suction force.
Any warrior whose combat power met the threshold would be pulled into the rift and transported to Hero Prison.
Sasuke, being the closest to the rift, was the first to be dragged toward it. Even though his wings flapped furiously, it was useless. Next was Akshia, who was similarly pulled in.
Naruto, on the other hand, seemed largely unaffected—likely because his combat power hadn't met the threshold.
"Sasuke! Sakura!"
Naruto looked up at the two being pulled into the gaping hole above and extended two chakra arms from the Nine Tails' power to grab onto Sasuke and Akshia.
"So, you want to go to Hero Prison too? Then allow me to fulfill your wish!"
Frieza, too, was not spared. As he was being drawn into the rift, he opened his palm and fired a beam of energy at Naruto.
The blast sent Naruto staggering—and in that moment of imbalance, he was sucked into the vortex as well.
With all four of them drawn in, the tear in the sky slowly mended itself, revealing a clear blue sky once more.
As if nothing had ever happened.
Tiny specks of light began to gather, gradually forming the figure of Future Boruto.
Collapsed on the ground, Future Boruto clutched his aching head as a massive flood of memories was forcibly injected into his mind.
"Hero Prison… the Great Dark Heaven…"
Gritting his teeth, Future Boruto pushed himself off the ground and stumbled forward, heading toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
With Akshia's departure, the ice and snow that had frozen everyone began to melt.
"My body… it's back to normal?"
Gaara looked down at himself in surprise.
"So that means… Akshia has been defeated," said Darui, the Fifth Raikage.
"But who could've done it…" Kurotsuchi frowned slightly. After all, the entire Allied Shinobi Forces had been frozen in place. To this day, the mere memory of facing Akshia sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Her presence—her power—had left a lasting impression on all of them.
"It must've been Naruto. Only he could've done it," Shikamaru said, glancing around. "Wait… where is Naruto?"
Not seeing the hero who had saved the Shinobi World made Shikamaru uneasy.
Suddenly, a golden light descended from the sky. Future Boruto appeared before them.
"Uncle Shikamaru."
"Boruto! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Future Boruto nodded. "Uncle Shikamaru, the truth is…"
As the Kage of each village and Shikamaru listened to his explanation, complex expressions appeared on their faces.
After Akshia, an even more terrifying force had emerged—the organization known as the Great Dark Heaven. And even battling just an ordinary member of this group had cost them both Naruto and Sasuke.
"My father and Uncle Sasuke didn't die—they were just imprisoned in Hero Prison," Future Boruto suddenly declared.
"Then in your memories… did we ever manage to rescue them?" Gaara asked the most pressing question.
Future Boruto fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No. Even up until the outbreak of the future bio-crisis, we never managed to rescue my father or Uncle Sasuke."
"…For now, let's set this matter aside," said Shikamaru, turning to Future Boruto. "The most urgent task is the rebuilding of the Hidden Leaf. Boruto, since Naruto is no longer with us… would you be willing to take over as Hokage?"
"No, let the me of this era handle that job," Future Boruto replied. "Besides, I still need to investigate the biolabs. Also… in my memories of the future, I saw Himawari."
"What?!" Modern Boruto happened to walk by just then and stared at his future self. "You're saying Himawari is still alive?"
"Yeah." Future Boruto nodded.
"In that case, I'm going to look for her too!"
"No." Future Boruto shook his head. "As the Eighth Hokage, your priority is to remain in the village and oversee the reconstruction."
"Then forget it—I'm not interested in being Hokage anyway!" Modern Boruto snapped. He had never truly desired the title. The only reason he accepted it was out of resentment, feeling that Naruto had given up on Himawari.
"Hokage isn't a job you take just because you feel like it—or drop because you're in a bad mood," Shikamaru said, trying to reason with him.
"Then let Dad keep being the Hokage. Hmph. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear this," Boruto said with a sarcastic sneer.
Future Boruto and Shikamaru exchanged glances. Finally, Future Boruto said, "The truth is… my dad and Uncle Sasuke vanished while protecting the Shinobi World."
"Vanished? What are you saying?!"
Boruto grabbed his future self's collar, visibly shaken.
"They were imprisoned somewhere inside the Hero Prison in order to protect the world," Future Boruto said heavily. "Which is why, Boruto, the village is in your hands now. As for Himawari—I promise, I will find her."
"But…"
"Don't worry. Himawari isn't just your little sister—she's mine too." With that, Future Boruto turned to Shikamaru. "Uncle Shikamaru, I'm counting on your help."
"This is my job anyway," Shikamaru replied, lighting a cigarette at some point and wearing a weary expression.
"We can help with the reconstruction of the Leaf Village as well," Gaara added.
Even without Naruto and Sasuke, the Hidden Leaf was still the strongest village in the Shinobi World. Just Future Boruto alone was enough to overpower nearly all the other villages.
At the gates of the Hidden Leaf.
Though the village lay in ruins, the iconic front gate—the symbol of the Hidden Leaf—remained completely intact.
"Boruto."
Hearing his name called, Future Boruto turned around.
"Hanabi-sis."
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