Chapter 389: An Intensely Fierce Battle
After the earlier exchange, Future Boruto had come to fully grasp Cell's strength. He now understood all too clearly that relying solely on his previous techniques would never be enough to defeat him.
And Cell was definitely not someone who could be taken down so easily.
The energy from the Rasenshuriken gradually dissipated, revealing Cell's perfectly unharmed form, arms folded across his chest.
"Not a bad move, Boruto," Cell said as he looked at Future Boruto. Though his words sounded like praise, there was a mocking undertone. "But now, it's my turn."
In the blink of an eye, Cell was in front of Future Boruto, launching a relentless barrage of punches at incredible speed.
Although the Jōgan allowed Future Boruto to see Cell's movements, his physical reflexes simply couldn't keep up. However, perhaps in exchange for his increased speed, the power behind Cell's punches had noticeably weakened.
Out of every three strikes Cell threw, at least one slipped past Future Boruto's defense and landed a hit.
After taking a punch, Future Boruto seized an opening and launched a Rasengan at Cell.
"Hmph."
Cell tilted his head slightly, effortlessly dodging the incoming Rasengan. But at the same moment, Future Boruto capitalized on the brief gap and struck Cell's side with a sharp counter-kick.
The two of them retreated at the same time, catching their breath.
"Well, I think our warm-up ends here," Cell said, quickly steadying his breathing as he looked toward Future Boruto.
"Yeah," Future Boruto replied with a nod, eyes fixed on Cell.
The skirmish they had just fought, for both Cell and Future Boruto, had merely been a warm-up. Though they had each landed some blows, neither side had truly been affected.
Planting his stance, Future Boruto let out a powerful burst of golden chakra. It erupted from him like a pillar, soaring into the sky. Bathed in radiant light, he looked like a blazing sun emerging suddenly in the middle of a dark night.
"So he's finally going all out..." Cell murmured, watching the transformation.
The sheer intensity of the chakra surging from Future Boruto caused the ground to quake violently beneath their feet.
"Hmph, I can't afford to fall behind either."
Clenching his fists, Cell's muscles suddenly swelled. A massive wave of energy burst forth from him as well.
The violent shockwaves generated from Cell's body sent nearby stones tumbling, and even the unconscious Mitsuki was shifted by the force. His body crackled with an eerie violet glow.
With a confident smirk, Cell locked eyes with Future Boruto.
The two slowly advanced toward each other, closing the distance until they were so close that no matter who struck first, the other wouldn't have enough space to dodge.
"Come, Boruto."
Even Cell, freshly reborn, began to show signs of genuine excitement at the sight of such an evenly matched opponent.
"Yeah!"
Future Boruto moved first, striking Cell square in the gut. The powerful blow made Cell instinctively hunch over.
Boruto immediately followed with a sharp knee to Cell's face, then vanished—reappearing overhead and driving a punch straight into the back of Cell's head.
Having seized the initiative, Future Boruto wasn't about to let up. He launched a relentless series of attacks.
Even as Cell crashed to the ground, Boruto didn't stop. He hammered Cell with blow after blow.
The force of his attacks transferred through Cell's body into the earth, causing tremors and fractures to ripple across the ground.
After landing his final strike, Future Boruto leapt backward to create some space.
Capitalizing on such a short burst of continuous offense took a massive toll on his stamina.
Suddenly, the fallen Cell vanished—and appeared behind the retreating Boruto. Having recognized Boruto's exhaustion, Cell wasted no time in launching a counterattack.
Future Boruto, now down to just one usable arm, struggled desperately to fend him off.
Eventually, as Cell paused briefly between strikes, Future Boruto dropped low and swept out with a low kick.
This time, his sweep connected—Cell was knocked off his feet.
Future Boruto once again widened the gap between them. But this time, Cell didn't give immediate chase. He stood up from the ground slowly.
"Hahahaha! This is just too fun, Boruto," Cell laughed maniacally as he stood. "But I'm no longer interested in dragging this out."
In a flash, Cell appeared on Boruto's left. Just as Boruto braced for an attack from that side, he was suddenly struck from the right.
"What?!" Boruto cried out, stunned as he was knocked away. "I see... it was his tail…"
Cell followed up instantly with another attack. Now aware of what was happening, Boruto did his best to defend himself.
The pace of their battle accelerated once more.
"Damn..."
Boruto left a gap in his guard, and Cell seized the moment. His right fist pounded relentlessly into Boruto's face, the thunderous blows forming a continuous roar.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A shadow clone appeared and landed a powerful kick on Cell from the side, sending him flying away from the real Boruto.
Boruto dashed in again, but Cell's tail suddenly lashed out and wrapped around him, slamming him brutally into the ground.
"AAAH—!"
Boruto cried out in pain as he hit the earth.
"I didn't think this fight would be so exhilarating. Truly beyond my expectations," Cell said as he watched the battered and bruised Future Boruto slowly get back on his feet. "Now this is what I call a real fight."
"..."
Both fighters moved again. One gold, one violet—blazing streaks of light collided, their fists smashing into each other and triggering a powerful explosion.
After a battle like this, this place would likely remain a dead zone for a long time.
They both pulled back their fists—then punched again, their blows meeting mid-air once more.
Each strike left behind blurring afterimages as their fists found their mark again and again. Within the span of a single second, both fighters had taken over a dozen hits.
They backed off once again, still evenly matched. Their breathing grew heavier. Though both were forcing themselves to stay upright, the exhaustion was visible on their faces.
"Cell... you're just about done, aren't you?"
"Hmph. You're nearly out of steam yourself."
"True... but everything up until now—every single move—has just been setting the stage for my next attack."
A massive surge of chakra erupted from Future Boruto's body as he launched himself into the sky.