"What are you doing?!" Sarada roared.
"Nothing much," Boruto replied calmly. "Dragging this out won't save him. If it ends, let it end quickly."
He stood within the Space-Time Rift, watching the battlefield below.
Through the faint sensory overlap of Mangekyō and dimensional perception, he could see the chaotic chakra pathways inside Naruto's body.
Naruto was reaching his limit.
Even Kurama was struggling.
Sarada trembled.
"He's still fighting!"
The crimson chakra of the Seven-Tails flickered beneath her skin, dense and violent.
"You should be grateful we're fighting here," Boruto said mildly. "Your illusion doesn't work well in this space."
"Don't act like you control everything!"
She lunged.
Her fist, wrapped in Tailed Beast chakra, slammed into his face.
Bang!
Boruto was blown backward, sliding across the distorted ground of the rift.
Sarada froze.
It hit.
So we're equal now.
She walked toward him cautiously.
"One of your eyes is suppressed. With just the other, you can't beat me."
She still had her Mangekyō.
She was a Jinchūriki.
Boruto scratched his head.
"Maybe," he said lightly. "Or maybe I kill you."
"You can't exhaust Tailed Beast chakra. And 'Other Shore' triggers automatically when I'm in danger."
She smiled for the first time.
An advantage.
Finally.
Boruto looked at her with faint amusement.
"You've grown sharper."
"Stop pretending!" she snapped. "You always push people to the edge!"
She formed a compact Tailed Beast Ball and hurled it forward.
Boruto snapped his fingers.
The world shifted.
The Tailed Beast Ball froze mid-flight.
The space between them stretched impossibly long.
Sarada activated Body Flicker—
She did not move.
The distance remained the same.
"What…?"
"Welcome," Boruto said softly, "to a real illusion."
His clothes shifted.
A black tuxedo replaced his battle attire. A white tie gleamed beneath a crisp collar. In his hand appeared a wine glass filled with deep red liquid.
He bowed slightly.
Sarada's Mangekyō spun wildly.
"Break it!" she commanded the Seven-Tails.
"I detect no genjutsu," the beast replied. "Your chakra flow is normal."
Her breath hitched.
This wasn't an illusion cast on her mind.
It was—
Control of the space itself.
"I have absolute authority here," Boruto said, swirling the wine. "Will you still resist?"
She dropped to one knee, chakra flickering erratically.
Rage. Helplessness.
"Perhaps," Boruto added lightly, "if Naruto dies… your Sharingan will evolve further."
Her head snapped up.
"Don't you dare—!"
She charged again.
The distance did not close.
No matter how she moved—
She remained far away.
"You can't even reach me," Boruto said, draining the wine in one swallow. "And even if you escape… nothing changes."
The rift's surface became transparent.
The battlefield below appeared.
Naruto was still pinned by black rods, barely conscious.
Sarada's fingers dug into her palms until they bled.
"Awaken again," Boruto murmured, conjuring a bucket of popcorn with absurd casualness. "Another Mangekyō."
She didn't respond.
She couldn't look away.
Below—
Jigen stood over Naruto.
"Kill me?" Jigen chuckled. "You can barely breathe."
"And us too."
A powerful voice echoed across the ruined street.
Tsunade stepped forward, calm and unyielding.
Beside her walked Sakura Haruno.
Both released the Strength of a Hundred Seal simultaneously.
Black markings spread across their bodies.
The ground cracked beneath their feet.
"Sakura, don't touch the rods directly," Tsunade warned.
Sakura nodded and moved swiftly, using precise strength control to pull Naruto free without direct chakra disruption.
Jigen watched with mild interest.
"Fifth Hokage," he said. "Call Uzumaki Boruto. Or he dies."
Tsunade's eyes did not waver.
"Why chase a child?" she asked evenly. "Boruto hasn't even graduated from the Academy. Why would 'Moon' interest you?"
"Answer yes," Jigen said flatly. "Or die."
The black markings of Karma pulsed darker.
Time was limited.
Tsunade glanced back at Naruto, who was barely stabilizing.
Then she nodded once.
"Fine."
Mei Terumī stiffened.
"Tsunade!"
Tsunade did not look at her.
"Lady Mizukage," she said solemnly, "broadcast this to the entire Ninja World."
In the rift above—
Boruto's expression remained unreadable.
"Now," he said quietly, "the real dream begins."
---
A/N: Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded. Please Check It Out. It will really help me out and will keep me motivated to continue.
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San