Chapter 398: Minato and Kushina's Long-Awaited Return
Boruto was once again forced back by Shikamaru's attack, retreating to a distance. A powerful golden chakra flared up around his body, accompanied by a sharp screeching sound—Boruto had entered Super Sage Fox Mode.
"Sorry, Uncle Shikamaru."
Even as he spoke, Boruto appeared in front of Shikamaru, and just as the words left his mouth, his fist slammed into Shikamaru's sturdy black-and-white body.
The powerful impact dispersed the venomous ooze that had covered Shikamaru, revealing him underneath. But almost immediately, the symbiotic venom that had been knocked away crawled back onto him and rewrapped his body.
The whole process took no more than a second.
The recovery was so fast that even Boruto didn't have time to react.
Fully restored, Shikamaru clenched his fist and punched Boruto, sending him flying.
In midair, Boruto twisted his body, and two Nine-Tails chakra claws burst out from his back, slamming down toward Shikamaru on the ground.
Shikamaru raised both arms to guard his chest. The force of the twin claws' strike didn't make him budge an inch.
Just how far had Shikamaru's strength progressed after being enhanced by the venom?
"Super Giant Rasengan!"
A Rasengan many times larger than even Shikamaru's hulking frame was hurled down from above by Boruto.
The ground beneath Shikamaru's feet began to fracture.
If Boruto wished, he could keep suppressing Shikamaru with the Rasengan. But it was futile. Even though Boruto had a large chakra reserve, it wasn't infinite. Maintaining a constant ninjutsu barrage would eventually deplete his chakra.
The Rasengan pressing down on Shikamaru vanished, and Boruto once again pulled back.
"Physical attacks and ninjutsu are both ineffective... So that means the only weakness is sound?"
Boruto murmured as he looked at Shikamaru before him.
The pressure from venom-enhanced Shikamaru was suffocating, but compared to past enemies who had devastated Konoha, the pressure from this venom form wasn't quite on the same level.
"Boruto, are we continuing?"
Shikamaru walked up to him and asked, mouth open, tongue long and twisted, writhing in a grotesque red.
"No, let's end it here. I've still got Hokage duties to tend to."
Boruto replied, having gauged Shikamaru's current strength.
To be honest, the power boost from the venom surprised him. Before fusing with the symbiote, Shikamaru's combat strength didn't even place him among Konoha's top ranks. He was always praised more for his intellect than his strength.
But now, fused with the venom, Shikamaru had become a serious threat. Without knowledge of the venom's weakness, he would be extremely difficult to take down. At the very least, 99% of the village's shinobi wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Immunity to ninjutsu, immunity to taijutsu—the only weakness being sound. According to intelligence sent back from his future self, the venom was clearly a product of S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was growing stronger, constantly developing new and mysterious technologies that put immense pressure on Boruto. On nights when he worked late into the evening at the Hokage's office, he couldn't help but miss his father, Naruto.
Even though he knew Naruto was still alive, just imprisoned in an interstellar hero detention facility, Boruto had long stopped hoping they would ever be reunited.
"Boruto."
"What is it, Uncle Shikamaru?"
Boruto turned to look at Shikamaru, who had suddenly called out to him.
"Actually, Boruto... I've been thinking a lot. About S.H.I.E.L.D., the mutant beasts, the Great Dark Heaven, and those strange new entities cropping up lately... The shinobi world is becoming more dangerous by the day. With Sasuke gone, I've decided to leave the village to investigate these matters."
Boruto frowned slightly. "But... isn't my future self already looking into it? And I still need your help with Hokage duties."
"With so many powerful enemies emerging in the shinobi world, your future self alone probably isn't enough. Besides, in terms of Hokage work, you're even more capable than Naruto was."
"Alright, Uncle Shikamaru... But you have to be careful."
Right now, what Konoha needed was stability. After several rounds of destruction, Boruto had realized that unless the threats to the shinobi world were truly eliminated, the village's development would always be a joke.
All the time, funds, and energy spent rebuilding Konoha could be wiped out by a single invasion.
At present, for Konoha, a powerful ninja was far more valuable than a seasoned politician.
"Where are you planning to start your investigation?"
"The Land of Water."
There was a clear reason why Shikamaru chose the Land of Water as his first stop.
First, since its destruction, no intel had come out of the region. It had turned into a lifeless wasteland. Gathering intelligence there was of critical importance.
Second, its geographical proximity to the Land of Fire meant that, should Konoha fall under threat, Shikamaru could return quickly across the narrow sea between them.
Underground Base, Land of Water
After years of development, the surface of the Land of Water had become Orochimaru's experimental playground. Clones used for testing lived above ground, surviving a brutal life where minor disasters struck every three days and major ones every five. Whenever an entire group of clones was wiped out, Orochimaru would simply deploy another batch—each implanted with copied memories.
If Orochimaru were acting alone, this kind of operation would've consumed enormous time and effort. But with the assistance of the Skynet system, all he had to do was give verbal instructions.
"Dr. Katasuke, the new clones have been deployed."
On a screen, a beautiful adult woman relayed the update to Katasuke, the former Konoha scientific ninja tool researcher who had defected.
"Good. Then next, we can begin trials on lethal puppets. And it's all thanks to your suggestion, Skynet."
Skynet responded with nothing but a quiet smile.
Land of Water, Surface
A group of freshly made clones—each implanted with memories of their past lives—lived in apparent happiness. Though their joy might last no more than ten minutes.
Scattered gunfire rang out. Shouts of despair and the sounds of fleeing filled the air.
The ground trembled—not due to an earthquake, but something far worse.
A vast, seemingly endless army of machines—no, scientific ninja tool puppets—marched forward in formation. Anyone in their path was crushed without mercy. The clones who fled to the sides of the road were shot down by the weapons these puppets carried.
A blanket of despair settled over the Land of Water.
"Minato, I still can't accept this."
On the rooftop of a tall building, Kushina leaned against Namikaze Minato, watching the clones scatter in all directions below.