"How did Sarada appear here?" Boruto muttered to himself. His transformed Menma figure stood not far away, brows tightly furrowed.
"Although this place is still within the Land of Fire, it's far from Konoha Village. Did Sarada's Mangekyo Sharingan grant her space-time abilities?"
His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the crimson wings spread behind her.
"Chakra materialized into wings?" he murmured. "Are those formed by Susanoo? Can Susanoo even change its form? Is that another ability from her Mangekyo?"
A grin crept onto his face. "Interesting. I really want to test Sarada's current strength myself."
Nine dark Reincarnation Beads appeared out of thin air in front of Boruto. His voice dropped to a low chant:
"Azure, White, Vermilion, Black, Void, South, North, Three, Jade—Nine-Faced Supoha!"
In an instant, the beads morphed into nine beastly visages, each snarling with immense power.
Meanwhile, Sarada was a blur of red light, darting through the air toward Itachi's direction.
"She's fast!" Itachi thought, his eyes tracking her movements. "With those Susanoo wings, I can't shake her off… should I engage?"
Before he could decide, a black streak tore through the sky like a meteor and slammed into the ground ahead of Sarada.
The impact was explosive—soil and trees ripped apart as a deafening shockwave surged outward.
Sarada was forced to halt midair, glaring down as the dust cleared.
From the crater's center emerged a tall figure clad in a black-and-grey hemp robe with white fur around the collar. A white three-eyed fox mask hid his face.
Floating behind him were nine masked divine beasts—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Golden Snake, Nanto Hermit, Hokuto Hermit, Shinigami, and Heavenly Maiden—each radiating immense spiritual pressure.
"Who are you?" Sarada demanded coldly, eyes sharp as blades.
The masked man said nothing, his footsteps slow but steady as he approached.
"Menma, what are you doing?" Itachi's voice sounded in Boruto's mind, concern lacing his tone. He feared for Sarada's safety.
"I want to personally witness the capacity of Uchiha Sasuke's daughter," Boruto replied coolly within his thoughts.
"Capacity?" Itachi echoed, startled.
"Watch closely, Itachi," Boruto continued. "See for yourself how shallow the Uchiha clan's final capacity truly is."
Itachi fell silent. "I once said something similar to Sasuke... Uchiha Menma, what is your true identity?"
Sarada frowned. The masked man's presence irritated her—she'd nearly caught the mysterious Mangekyo user, and now this stranger stood in her way.
"You're Uchiha Sasuke's daughter," Boruto said. "I want to see how your power compares to your father's."
"You know my dad? What do you mean 'see my power'?" Sarada shot back, confused.
Boruto simply shook his head. Behind him, the nine divine beasts roared and lunged at her like predators unleashed.
Sarada's eyes sharpened. No hesitation.
The nine crimson Susanoo swords floating before her trembled, burning with intense energy.
"Are these things… puppets?" she muttered.
She gave a sharp command, and the swords danced through the air like extensions of her own will, clashing violently with the incoming beasts.
Steel and claws collided with earth-shaking force, sending sparks and shockwaves in every direction.
"What the hell? They're so hard! Even my Susanoo blades can't cut them?"
Her brows furrowed. A single strike from her greatsword could normally carve deep trenches through solid rock. These creatures' toughness defied belief.
"Why is this guy attacking me? Is he like Shin Uchiha—trying to capture me to get to my dad?"
Her eyes gleamed with defiance. "Fine, then I'll test my new ability on you!"
Blood trickled from the corner of her right eye as her Mangekyo spun violently.
"Amaterasu!"
Boruto felt the sudden flare of her chakra. "Chakra gathering in the right eye… could it be—"
A burst of black flames erupted in front of him.
"So it is Amaterasu," Boruto said, unbothered. "But my repulsive field's already deployed—it won't burn me."
Sarada winced, her right eye throbbing in pain.
She wiped away the blood at its corner and hissed, "Amaterasu consumes too much chakra and barely does anything. What trash. I'm never using it again."
Itachi, watching from a distance, frowned deeply. "Amaterasu… so her right eye wields that power."
Sarada steadied herself. "I don't have much chakra left. Most of my ocular power's drained. Maybe I should retreat with Heavenly Spin…"
Her gaze hardened again. "No. One more move. If this fails, I'll withdraw."
With a powerful flap of her Susanoo wings, she dove from the sky like a scarlet comet.
Her punch slammed into the ground where Boruto stood, shattering it completely. The entire forest shook from the impact, sending a violent shockwave through the air.
But when the dust settled—Boruto was gone.
Clap… clap… clap.
A calm, mocking applause echoed from beyond the crater.
"The Uchiha's power is impressive," Boruto said, appearing at the edge. "But that alone won't be enough to defeat me."
Sarada glared up at him. "Is that so? Then try this one!"
Her Mangekyo spun again. "Tsukuyomi!"
In an instant, both of them were pulled into the Tsukuyomi world.
Boruto found himself bound to a wooden cross, crimson moonlight spilling across a warped landscape.
Sarada stepped forward, eyes cold and confident. "This world is under my control. Compared to Amaterasu, this jutsu is much more useful."
She reached toward his mask, voice curious. "I really want to know what kind of face is hiding behind this."
Just as her hand neared him, a soft laugh escaped from behind the fox mask.
"Tsukuyomi? What a pity," Boruto said, his tone turning dark. "This world… will now be mine."
Sarada's vision spun violently—and when she regained awareness, she was the one bound to the cross.
...
Author's Note:
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