"So, what's your decision?"
Boruto and Mitsuki stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the two-tailed beasts towering before them, each radiating an ancient, overwhelming presence.
"My silence speaks for itself. I don't care," Kurama said lazily, flicking his tails.
Isobu huffed. "You're all one family! Out here, teaming up to fool us. I'm honestly speechless. Even turning against tailed beasts of your own lineage just to trick us."
It's all fake! Damn it—moon, enemy, crisis… All just a family disagreement!?
Boruto and Mitsuki: …
Kurama: …
"Then what is your real goal? Collecting all of us is the price for reviving the Ten-Tails, isn't it?" Isobu asked coldly.
Kurama's brows lifted, his gaze narrowing on Boruto. "You said before you'd give the tailed beasts freedom. Does that still stand?"
"…" Boruto sighed under Kurama's sharp gaze. "A promise is a promise. That won't ever change."
Kurama let out a long breath, finally satisfied.
Isobu: ???
You actually believed that? You HAVE to be in on this together, right!?
"Oh, come on," Kurama scoffed. "They're already being sincere by not shoving you straight into the Gedo Mazo."
Your demands are too high.
"Kurama… don't you love me anymore?" Isobu asked, sounding betrayed.
Mitsuki and Boruto: …
Kurama swung a casual backhand, sending Isobu flying across the mental space. Even as only a half-manifested form, his dominance was absolute.
"So what workable methods are there?" Isobu asked once it rolled back into place. "Reviving the Ten-Tails requires sacrificing the nine of us, doesn't it?"
Kurama folded his arms. "I trust Boruto, but I still want to give the other tailed beasts a piece of tape."
(No typos.)
Boruto: Are we… literally putting tape on their mouths?
Mitsuki: …
"Ahem," Boruto continued. "The tailed beasts were born from the Divine Tree. You're all chakra beings brought from beyond the heavens by Kaguya, so in theory… this isn't something that can't be replicated."
"Based on the information I have, there's another organization in the world—Kara. And the only reason I created Yue was to oppose them."
"The one behind Kara is above the Six Paths level—much stronger than Kaguya. He also has his own Divine Tree… which gave birth to a miniature Ten-Tails."
"But because its chakra supply wasn't enough, Ten-Tails is still incomplete. It just needs a huge amount of chakra to mature."
"In other words, you only need to contribute most of your chakra—just enough that you won't dissipate."
"After that, I'll become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, and all of you can continue living freely."
Boruto's tone was calm but sincere. A deal like this was hard for any tailed beast to reject.
"Boruto… you truly are the chosen one," Kurama said, impressed.
Such a well-planned, logical approach—so much better than Naruto's impulsive stubbornness. Boruto was decisive, resourceful, and actually cared about the tailed beasts. Kurama truly believed he would shoulder a powerful future.
"Isobu, anything else to say?" Kurama's eyes flashed with a hint of killing intent.
"This plan is amazing! I support it completely!" Isobu nodded rapidly.
"Alright. Then this is the agreement between the nine-tailed beasts."
Boruto raised his fist. Kurama and Isobu bumped their heads against his, a symbol of unity. Boruto became the second person, after Naruto,o to earn the acknowledgment of every tailed beast.
"So, Isobu," Boruto asked, "want to go on an adventure with Mitsuki? He'll be an important fighter in the battle against the Ōtsutsuki."
Mitsuki stepped forward, quietly standing beside Boruto. His gaze met the Three-Tails'.
"This…" Isobu hesitated. Should he remain free, or live a thrilling life like Kurama and Gyūki?
The truth was, deep down, every tailed beast wanted recognition—to be seen not as monsters, but as living beings in the shinobi world.
But not every tailed beast met someone like Naruto… or a partner like Killer Bee. Most simply fled to deserted places to survive alone.
After a long pause, Isobu said, "Fine. I'll become this brat's tailed beast!"
"You'd better make me proud," it added, staring seriously into Mitsuki's eyes.
Mitsuki smiled softly. Isobu recognized the boy's courage—anyone who dared dive to 1,200 meters wasn't ordinary.
"Boruto, let's spar later. Let's jump straight into our final chakra connection."
"Alright…" Boruto sighed.
Later, at the meeting of the tailed beasts, Kurama pretended to be completely deaf and blind. (Evil laugh.)
…
Inside the lightning barrier, Boruto used the [Eight Trigrams Seal] to place Isobu within Mitsuki's body.
Seeing they were still deep underwater, Boruto dissolved his shadow clone and said, "I'll take you back now."
As the memories flowed back, Boruto smiled. He pulled out a kunai, forming familiar hand seals.
"Flying Thunder God — Mutual Instant!"
In a flash, Mitsuki appeared on the observation deck.
"Welcome back, Mitsuki. Even if things didn't go exactly as planned."
"Mm. But everything still turned out for the better, right?"
Originally, if Isobu refused, they would've taken nine-tenths of its chakra and part of its soul, stored them, and hidden Isobu somewhere unknown. Then, by swapping positions with "巳月," they would bring Mitsuki back safely.
"Congratulations, Siyue, mission accomplished," Kakei Sumire said gently.
The ocean suddenly lit up with blazing light. A fireball rose from the far horizon, splitting the night apart.
The sea had become calm again. And at the edge of that glowing water stood a magnificent country, quietly resting between sea and sky.
"It seems this journey is ending," Sumire said with a soft sigh.
"Yes. Though it was tough… we weathered the storm," Boruto replied.
Siyue stood with him, eyes fixed on the distant land as new challenges waited ahead.
"The journey hasn't reached its end. This is only the beginning," Boruto said confidently to Mitsuki and Sumire.
"Hey, Boruto—did you see Mitsuki? Huh? When did he show up next to you?"
Iwabe had just walked out of an arcade, ready to call for Mitsuki—only to see him standing beside Boruto.
He thought: So he still can't leave Boruto's side, huh?
Denki adjusted his glasses. "After this school trip, how about we vote to put these three in one group?"
"Agreed! Though it's troublesome," Iwabe muttered, scratching his head.
"I agree," a girl said while chewing on potato chips.
Under the slightly dazzling sunlight, for the first time, they all came to the same conclusion.
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