Naruto: Boruto Returns to Shippuden

Chapter 137 Transformation

When Jiraiya saw Boruto bite his finger and begin forming hand seals, he already realized what kind of ninjutsu Boruto was about to use, but it was too late to stop him.

"Hmm?" On the other side, as Hidan finished drawing the magic circle on the ground with Boruto's blood and was about to insert his weapon into his heart according to the curse ritual, a huge shadow appeared in his field of vision.

As the shadow gradually expanded until it completely covered him, Hidan muttered to himself, "What is this thing..." When he looked up at the sky, an enormous blue-green toad came into his view.

On the back of this blue-green giant toad were two enormous swords. It descended from the sky like a moving mountain, crushing straight toward Hidan's location.

As the massive body of the toad landed on the battlefield, the entire ground shook violently, as if a major earthquake had occurred, and the surrounding sand and stones were shaken up.

Before Hidan could even react to what was happening, the impact forced him into the mud beneath Gamabunta. His figure was instantly buried by the giant toad's body, and his fate remained unknown.

Kakuzu lay not far away, his gaze fixed on the scene of Hidan being crushed by a giant toad that fell from the sky. He frowned. Although he knew that Hidan was immortal and theoretically would not die from physical damage, he was afraid that Hidan's body would be crushed to pieces by such heavy crushing.

However, at that time, Hidan had already completed the drawing of his curse circle and was inside it. Even if Hidan was seriously injured at this moment, the fate of that brat had already been locked, and he would definitely not escape death in the end.

Just as Kakuzu predicted, Boruto, who was floating in the sky, felt the backlash of Hidan's curse the moment Hidan was crushed. The damage Hidan suffered was directly reflected back onto Boruto.

Boruto's body seemed to be extremely compressed by an invisible force, but he felt a violent tearing sensation at his neck. He vomited blood mixed with his internal organs, and then his skin under his clothes began to crack in large areas.

Large amounts of blood gushed from the wound, staining his clothes red in just a few moments, and his bones creaked under the immense pressure.

Immediately afterwards, Boruto lost all his strength, his consciousness became hazy, and he could no longer maintain his balance in the air. He fell straight down from the sky, and the faint signs of life in his body were dissipating until they became almost imperceptible.

Just then, Jiraiya arrived at the ground beneath Boruto and leaped up, catching Boruto in mid-air and pulling him into his arms.

Boruto's blood quickly soaked Jiraiya's clothes, and the bloodstains spread rapidly, forming a dark stain.

At the same time, blood continued to seep from Jiraiya's hands, which were tightly embracing Boruto, dripping slowly along the outline of his fingers and leaving behind shocking streaks of blood.

Jiraiya landed on the ground with Boruto in his arms, channeling his chakra into Boruto's body in an attempt to sense Boruto's presence.

However, Jiraiya's chakra, like water thrown into a bottomless ocean, did not stir up any ripples in Boruto's body. The cruel reality proved to him that Boruto's flame of life had been extinguished.

Putting aside the fact that Jiraiya himself is not skilled in medical ninjutsu, even if Tsunade, who is known for her medical ninjutsu in the ninja world, were present, she would probably be unable to save Boruto from his current serious injuries.

At this moment, Fukasaku, who was perched on Jiraiya's shoulder, looked at Boruto, whose life force had already dissipated, and wanted to say a few words of comfort to Jiraiya.

Shima gestured to Fukasaku with his eyes, conveying a silent message: "Honey, let's keep quiet for now and let Jiraiya have some peace and quiet."

Jiraiya lowered his head silently, looking at Boruto in his arms with a somewhat dazed expression. His facial expression was obscured by shadows, making it impossible to see what he was looking at.

Jiraiya was perhaps reflecting on his actions, wondering if he had been more forceful and insisted on keeping Boruto and Naruto in Konoha, just like them, and perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided...

......

After a period of recuperation, Kakuzu finally regained some strength. He activated the Fire Release Masked Monster and used its power to slowly lift his battered body. He had suffered heavy losses in this battle; of his five hearts, only two remained, and his life and strength had been greatly weakened.

At this time, Jiraiya had deactivated his Sage Mode and returned to normal, while the two toad sages returned to their home at Mount Myōboku.

Jiraiya held Boruto's gradually cooling body, his eyes becoming somewhat empty and lifeless, and he staggered forward, surrounded by the horrific scenes of the previous battle.

Jiraiya didn't know how far he had walked. Boruto's fingers in his arms twitched slightly, and then a familiar, slightly hoarse voice came to Jiraiya's ear: "...How strange. I didn't expect to see you with such an expression. Are you sad for me?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Jiraiya's empty eyes regained some light, and he stopped in his tracks, turning his gaze to Boruto.

At first, Jiraiya thought it was just a hallucination caused by his inability to accept the reality of Boruto's death, but when he saw Boruto's grinning face, he realized that Boruto had really been resurrected.

Boruto slowly got up from Jiraiya's arms. After he stood up, he reached out and touched his body. He felt that he was fine. Although he had suffered serious injuries before, he seemed to have fully recovered now.

Jiraiya looked at Boruto with a surprised expression. Then, Jiraiya grabbed Boruto's hand and began to channel chakra into his body, carefully examining his injuries.

After a thorough examination, Jiraiya discovered that Boruto's cracked skin had miraculously healed completely, and that his chakra was even more abundant than before.

If it weren't for the large patches of still-wet blood on Boruto's body, it would be almost impossible to tell that he had suffered a fatal injury not long ago, or that he had become a cold corpse.

"Boruto, what happened? Your injuries...?"

Boruto clenched his fists tightly. He could clearly feel that his strength and stamina had been fully restored, even more so than before he was injured.

Moreover, I feel that my body is stronger than before, as if I have undergone a transformation.

Jiraiya gripped Boruto's shoulders tightly, his eyes filled with excitement, and murmured, "But, it's so good that you're alright..."

......

Boruto suddenly realized that the world in front of him had once again fallen into a state of stillness, just like before. Time around him seemed to be frozen, and all movement and sound disappeared.

However, this time was different from his previous experiences. Boruto discovered that his body was not restricted in any way and he could move and act freely.

Boruto then began to carefully observe his surroundings, his gaze sweeping across the still world. Soon after, his eyes fell on a figure not far away, which was Momoshiki.

Momoshiki had already walked slowly to Boruto, his eyes revealing a complex expression: "Kid, you're really ruthless when it comes to yourself."

Boruto smiled helplessly at Momoshiki's words: "So what if I hit you hard? Rather than let you use my body to do evil outside, I'd rather die with you. It's just that I didn't get to do it this time."

Even if such a thing happened again, he would not hesitate in the slightest. He would rather sacrifice himself than become a puppet controlled by Momoshiki.

Momoshiki fell into a brief silence after Boruto's words. After a moment, Momoshiki slowly spoke: "What you said is true. If I lose you as my 'vessel,' then my soul will also vanish with your death."

Momoshiki continued, "Your body contains my soul, which is the foundation connecting me to the present world. I only have one special 'vessel' like you, so for my own sake, I absolutely cannot lose you."

Boruto nodded slightly, his words carrying a hint of understanding: "As expected, my resurrection this time was also due to your intervention, and you even managed to heal the severe injuries I sustained."

Boruto realized that he had suffered the backlash of that guy's strange curse, which had put him in a near-death state. Logically speaking, he should have had no chance of survival, but he had miraculously revived.

Momoshiki coldly addressed Boruto: "Your bones, internal organs, and flesh have been almost completely crushed into blood and gore. If I hadn't used the 'Karma' to bring you back to life, how could you still be jumping around here?"

Boruto immediately grasped the key point of Momoshiki's words: "You said you revived me through the 'Karma'? Isn't this mark something you used to take over my body? What other strange use does it have?"

Momoshiki's words revealed her resentment: "I was just one step away from successfully reincarnating through the 'Wedge,' but your reckless actions ruined it."

“Previously, if I had just merged the remaining ‘wedge’ into your body, I could have been reborn directly through your body, but now I can only die with regret.”

In order to maintain Boruto's ever-decreasing life force, Momoshiki had no choice but to take a stopgap measure and directly used the remaining "Wedge" power to repair and rebuild Boruto's damaged cells and tissues.

Upon hearing Momoshiki's words, Boruto was overjoyed. He had thought that he would have no choice but to perish together with Momoshiki to prevent Momoshiki from taking over his body, and he had already prepared himself for sacrifice. He never expected that he would not only be resurrected but also receive such an unexpected surprise.

But it makes sense. If Momoshiki were to die, he wouldn't be able to revive through his own body, let alone even remain in this world.

Boruto chuckled smugly, "So, this time it's a complete victory for me, while you've suffered a crushing defeat."

Momoshiki's face was gloomy, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes: "You've ruined my idea of ​​reincarnation, and you still dare to be smug about it."

"I've come not only to revive you, but also to tell you that since the data of 'Karma' is deeply engraved in your body, you are no longer like those inferior creatures, but have become a member of our Otsutsuki."

Momoshiki, fearing that Boruto might do something reckless like this time, still warned him: "You will never be able to revive like this again. If you die next time, it will be completely over. Even I will be powerless to save you. You had better remember that."

After Boruto completely destroyed the potential threat of Momoshiki using him as a vessel for reincarnation, he asked Momoshiki a question: "Momoshiki, was your previous nonsensical prophecy about losing everything what brought me to this era?"

Boruto frowned as he said this. Although coming here has separated me from my family and companions in my original world, strictly speaking, it doesn't mean I've lost everything.

Momoshiki did not respond to Boruto's words, but turned away and his figure gradually blurred in Boruto's sight before disappearing completely.

After Momoshiki left, the flow of time around Boruto began to return to normal, and the previously static world began to flow again.

Momoshiki wasn't unwilling to answer Boruto's question, but since they traveled through time to this era, Boruto's future has become unpredictable and somewhat uncertain.

Boruto, seeing that Momoshiki had vanished without a trace before answering his question, hurriedly called out, "Wait! Momoshiki! Say what you wanted to say..."

"Momoshiki?" Jiraiya asked upon hearing Boruto's shout. Then, a thought flashed through Jiraiya's mind, and he asked in a deep voice, "Could it be that Momoshiki revived you?"

Boruto nodded, his expression somewhat complicated: "That's right, Momoshiki not only revived me, he also said he turned me into a real Otsutsuki."

Boruto recounted to Jiraiya everything that Momoshiki had revealed when time had stopped flowing.

Boruto then began to carefully examine his body. He noticed that what was originally just a small diamond-shaped mark on his palm had now spread out and covered his entire chest.

At this moment, Boruto suddenly remembered the two Akatsuki members he had fought with before. He turned to Jiraiya and asked, "Speaking of which, where are the two of them?"

Jiraiya felt a bit embarrassed because he had been so caught up in the grief of Boruto's death that he had completely overlooked the existence and condition of the other two people.