Chapter 440: You're Something Else
"Yah-hea!"
Might Guy's booming laugh resounded amid the violent, roaring clashes.
BOOM!
Vivid imagery flooded the minds of all the freshmen as a glorious scene unrolled inside their consciousness.
Surging chakra coalesced into a colossal beast forged of crackling lightning.
On the other side, chakra swept through the atmosphere, forming a massive, feral beast's head right before their eyes.
The two titan-like beasts glared at each other, neither yielding a single inch.
Each demanded the other bow in submission.
Tobitake Tonbo whistled. "Yo, Kakashi and Guy have made massive strides too. Asuma, if you keep going at this rate, it won't be long before the younger generation leaves you in the dust."
Watching the two men's incredible combat power and awe-inspiring display, Tobitake Tonbo felt a wave of pure satisfaction.
This level of combat performance wasn't one bit inferior to back when they fought Madara Uchiha.
Even if Urashiki were released right now, Tonbo had a feeling the Otsutsuki wouldn't be a match for these two as they were today—setting aside escaping with space-time ninjutsu, that is.
Unless Urashiki fled in advance, if Guy managed to lock onto his presence, the alien would be in for a rough time.
And right now, Guy was only operating in the Fifth Gate.
By the time he opened the Sixth Gate, he could likely replicate the space-warping physical strength he demonstrated with the Eighth Gate during the Fourth War.
Once he unlocked the Sixth Gate, he wouldn't give Urashiki the time to cast space-time ninjutsu—and even if the space were distorted, Urashiki likely wouldn't be able to escape.
As for Kakashi, it was the exact same story.
With the raw visual power of this Purple Electricity, standard Lightning Blade was practically child's play by comparison.
It was clear Kakashi had trained brutally hard so as not to fall behind his peers. He wasn't like Asuma, who had slacked off drastically ever since having a daughter.
Right now, Asuma's visual performance couldn't even match Konohamaru's or Moegi's.
He couldn't even outperform Shino—truly a disgrace.
Unlike Guy, Kakashi had practiced a vast array of ninjutsu after becoming Hokage.
In terms of mastery, he was likely no less of a "Professor of Ninjutsu" than the Third Hokage himself.
Perhaps even more well-rounded.
By making full use of the various training facilities Tonbo had set up, Kakashi had genuinely become formidable.
For a shinobi whose innate talent was already absurdly high to begin with, reaching this level meant his mid-thirties were far from his prime.
Over the coming years, his combat strength would only continue to climb.
After a few more years of training, every one of these veterans would be standing alongside the likes of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
They might even surpass them.
At this rate, the Otsutsuki won't be able to do a damn thing to the Shinobi World, will they? Tonbo mused to himself.
The Otsutsuki possessed immense combat power, and while he hadn't read through the entirety of the Boruto plotline, they couldn't possibly be absurdly invincible.
Otherwise, how could the future Shinobi World fight back against the Otsutsuki and Kara?
Even without him, Tobitake Tonbo, the Shinobi World would surely have found a way to resolve the crisis.
Following standard logic, in a hot-blooded shonen story, the good guys were destined to win.
It wasn't as if Boruto alone, alongside that Kara traitor Koji Kashin, could save the entire Shinobi World on their own.
The world's other top combatants were bound to play a vital role against the Otsutsuki threats—take the current Five Kage, for example.
He really had made the right moves. In the future, he might not even need to step in himself before the Shinobi World sorted out its own troubles.
Still, proper preparations had to be made.
He couldn't afford to get arrogant about the future just because Konoha was thriving right now.
After all, he couldn't underestimate the so-called omnipotent and omniscient Otsutsuki God.
Who knew whether that being would eventually resurrect?
Nor could he look down on others—take the Kara member who could alter everyone's perception, or the one who reflected killing intent.
Against those two known wildcards, Konoha might manage to deal with one or two only if given detailed intelligence and sufficient capability.
Tonbo had no idea how many monsters like that Kara possessed.
In any case, over the next few years, Kakashi, Guy, and himself would all grow at a rapid, accelerating pace.
Paired with minds like Orochimaru and Kabuto, there would be more than enough buffer time for Boruto to grow into his potential.
As the harmony of the ninjutsu world was finalized and perfected, Tonbo was beginning to believe that the Shinobi World truly possessed a thread of destiny.
Or rather, the entire universe was guided by fate.
The fact that he could use ninjutsu to balance the luck and misfortune between two individuals to share damage proved that fate was a tangible force.
Therefore, Boruto was paramount, and the other members of the new generation were just as crucial.
After all, the rise of a central hero always required the growth of those around him to drive his progress forward.
Boruto would serve as the final trump card if all other preparations failed.
Of course, Tonbo remained confident that he could resolve any future crisis himself—so long as the Shinobi World continued developing along its current trajectory.
Hearing Tonbo's remarks, Asuma's face turned green again. "Hmph! We're in an era of peace now—of course I'm going to spend more time with my daughter! Aren't you doing the exact same thing?"
"Heh, I'm nothing like you. I can pop out dozens of shadow clones and easily overcome my kids' aversion to them. Can you do that? Even Naruto can't manage that."
Tonbo smirked playfully.
Asuma gritted his teeth. "Damn it... Tche, you guy who uses Shadow Clones to fool your kids."
"Don't talk nonsense! I'm not fooling anyone," Tonbo countered smoothly. "Look at my children now: the two oldest are already jonin, leading their own teams while managing my various corporate groups and business enterprises.
My younger son, Keigo, graduated early and joined the Technology Development Bureau. Recently, he even developed the prototype for a Kekkei Tota. In another two years, he might master it completely.
As for my youngest, Saitama—sure, he's a bit simple-minded, but his physical constitution is insane, as you well know.
He's only seven years old, yet his physical capabilities have already outstripped Itachi Uchiha at that age—at least in terms of raw physical body potential."
Over the years, his children had grown with astonishing speed.
His eldest son and daughter had already begun taking over his various corporate entities, stepping back from full-time shinobi work to serve as board chairpersons and CEOs.
Even so, their strength continued to advance—just not as rapidly as Konohamaru's.
After all, romantic distractions really did affect the speed at which one drew their blade; that wasn't just a saying.
His greatest surprise, however, was Tobitake Keigo, who was currently researching a brand-new Kekkei Tota: Light Style.
Keigo had already managed a rudimentary fusion of three nature transformations.
To become light itself.
If light weren't so notoriously difficult to manipulate, the technique would already be complete.
Still, it wouldn't be long now.
Tonbo had full faith that his son would successfully develop the Shinobi World's second Kekkei Tota.
Furthermore, that was merely one of Keigo's side projects.
His greater achievements lay in his contributions to the Technology Development Bureau, where his insights provided endless inspiration to researchers like Orochimaru.
He owned a significant stake in Konoha's booming technological advancements.
In the realm of Scientific Ninja Tools, his authority surpassed even Orochimaru's.
And he was only twelve years old.
Granted, in terms of ninjutsu and chakra reserves, he still required extensive training and lagged far behind Orochimaru.
Surpassing Orochimaru at his current rate of growth would take a considerable amount of time.
Accumulated wisdom built over decades wasn't something a young Keigo could leapfrog overnight.
Besides, Orochimaru was a genius in his own right.
As for his youngest son, Saitama, Tonbo hadn't unsealed his power yet. His current physical durability was merely a tiny fraction of the innate talent leaking from his body—like a partially removed limiter.
His physical body was evolving at a terrifying rate.
With children like these, Tonbo was immensely proud as a father.
Asuma stared at him, utterly speechless for a long moment. "...You're something else."
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