“Boruto, you’re an excellent ninja,” Sasuke said. “You’ve been blessed with an excellent education, and you’ve got the talent and determination to go with it. If the ninja who have died protecting the village could see you, I’m sure they would be proud.”
“As if!!” Boruto spat. He was certain Sasuke was just being nice, which only made him feel more pathetic. “All those generations of ninja! They’d laugh at me, living this easy life, science everywhere.”
“Of course they wouldn’t. This kind of peace, this progress, was exactly what the warring era ninja dreamed of while they spent those long hours studying and honing their skills.” He pulled a kunai from his pocket. Protected from rusting, it emitted a dull light. “By burnishing the kunai, you keep it from corroding. A special power causes it to accelerate when you throw it between two bolts of electricity. Just to obtain this meager knowledge, so many of our predecessors made countless observations, did endless analyses. The scientific ninja tools are the grand sum of this accumulation of knowledge. True, it wasn’t appropriate for you to use one in the chunin exams, but they can be a powerful weapon in actual battle. A force to protect the village.”
The clouds slid along above them. and Sasuke and Boruto were once more bathed in the light of the setting sun. Sasuke’s normally black hair and eyes shone a strange orange.
“Many people spent many years building up this knowledge base. And Boruto, it’s your generation on the frontlines now.” Sasuke suddenly looked at him, and their eyes met. When Boruto averted his gaze, Sasuke’s face softened. “I know you hate science. I must be boring you.”
“Well, you know… You’re sure talking an awful lot, Old Man Sasuke.”
“Not as much as your father.”
Boruto looked off at where he’d thrown the dice into the bushes earlier. A line of ants now stretched out from the shattered sugar cubes.
He wanted to live up to Sasuke’s expectations, so much so that it hurt. Which was exactly why he was frustrated that he just couldn’t get past this visceral hatred of science.
“It will be dark soon. We’ll head back to the village.” Sasuke stood up and started walking toward the cliff where Sarada and Mitsuki were training. Boruto followed him without a word.
That night, Mitsuki stood alone on the branch of a massive tree, training on his own with the Lorentz Gun. He was able to generate the Lightning Style bolts, but they scattered the instant they came into contact with the air. Left to its own devices, an electric current would melt away into nothing. Holding one in the form of a bolt took real skill.
The sky was quite clear. The half-moon shining sharply above the treetop looked like it was floating right in front of his nose.
Crackle crackle…
Mitsuki concentrated on the image of a pillar, centering his electric current as he practiced generating the Lightning Style.
“That’s a pretty interesting bit of training, hm?”
The sudden voice from behind interrupted his focus. He looked back to find Orochimaru standing on a branch above his, looking down at him.
“What? Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“I was taking a walk,” Orochimaru chuckled. “The moon was so beautiful.”
“Mm-hm.” Mitsuki raised an eyebrow. “And you came all the way here.”
“From what I saw, it looks like you’re trying to control the flow of Lightning Style. But to what end?”
Eager to get back to his training, Mitsuki was being noncommittal in his responses, but Orochimaru kept talking. Apparently, he really didn’t have anything better to do.
“By controlling the flow of Lightning Style, you can use a magnetic field to accelerate objects.”
“Mm, I see.” Orochimaru nodded. “Electromagnetic induction?”
Mitsuki ignored him and focused his mind on the palm of his hand. He envisioned a straight line as he tried to pull in the current that was so intent on scattering. The electricity in his hand crackled and stretched out as far as he could see, wrapped in plasma.
I did it!
The instant the thought crossed his mind, the current popped with a loud crack.
“Gah!” Too excited by his apparent success, he’d accidentally relaxed his mind.
“Not too shabby.” Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction. “Well, you are my son, after all. It’s only natural you’d be able to do this much at least.”
“I still have a long way to go. I can’t maintain the form. I’ll need time to shape the electricity how I want it. It won’t be in an instant like Sasuke.”
“What?” The color of Orochimaru’s eyes abruptly changed. “Mitsuki…is Sasuke training you?”
“Didn’t I mention that? Master Konohamaru’s in the hospital, so Sasuke’s filling in.”
“Hmm. The Sasuke,” Orochimaru muttered. “Perhaps I will come watch your training tomorrow.”
“Don’t you dare.”
With the dice and the Lorentz Gun and everything else, Sasuke’s training covered a lot of ground. He subjected them to all kinds of things, from drilling the basics to mock battles.
By the fifth day of training, the three students were more or less able to get doubles with their dice—perhaps not nine times out of ten, but at least once or twice. Sarada and Mitsuki were also drawing steadily closer to mastering the Lorentz Gun.
But Boruto still continued to avoid science, despite knowing that having science and the natural order on his side was going to be even more important as a ninja in this new era. As long as he shied away from it, he’d inevitably fall behind the other ninja. And he did want to overcome his aversion to science, but he couldn’t do anything about how he felt. He knew Sasuke was worried about how stubbornly he turned his back to science, as he himself was.
One morning, at the beginning of their second week of training, Sasuke arrived thirty minutes after their usual start time.
“You’re a lot more comfortable with the finer control, hm?” he called when he saw his students already facing their sugar-cube dice, practicing on their own. “Keep practicing this every day until you succeed every single time. Mitsuki, Sarada, don’t forget your Lorentz Gun training. Also, basic drills and mock battles every day. If you want to incorporate anything else into your training, talk it over and decide from there.”
“What’s up, Old Man Sasuke?” Boruto turned toward their teacher. “Sounds like you’re going somewhere.”
“Mission came in,” Sasuke replied. “I’m setting out now.”
“What?!” Sarada cried out, her eyes wide. “You’re leaving the village?”
“Mm. To do an emergency survey. I’ll be back in about a week.”
“That’s pretty sudden.” Boruto frowned.
“Hey, Dad?” Sarada glared up at Sasuke without blinking. “Did you tell Mom? Does she know you’re going away?”
“Mm.”
“Really?” She sounded doubtful. “When did you tell her?”
“I talk plenty with Sakura after you’ve gone to bed.” Sasuke smiled wryly. “So don’t worry.”
“Really…”
The details of Sasuke’s mission were, as always, top secret, and although Boruto pestered him, their teacher would tell them absolutely nothing.
When Sasuke left on his mission through the village gates, they watched until they could no longer see him, then went to get lunch at Ichiraku Ramen. After filling their stomachs, they pushed past the curtains in the doorway and returned to their training area.
Compared to the relaxed atmosphere of the old town, the new town and all its impressive new developments were busy day and night. Streetlamps shone down on the newly laid roads where boutiques with big show windows stood alongside cafes with open patios. A clerk called out the day’s specials in front of the traditional sweet shop, and in the center of the crossroads, a cat mascot was handing out some kind of pamphlet.
“So like, that anmitsu I ate at with Cho-Cho was super good.”
“Cho-Cho’s a big old rice ball herself, though. It’s cannibalism. She’s a cannibal.”
“I don’t know if I’d put it like that.”
They were walking along, lost in conversation, when a pamphlet was thrust before them. Boruto reflexively reached to take it, and a giant ball of flesh grabbed hold of his hand.
“Ah?!” Lifting his face in surprise, he stared up at the cat mascot.
The cat brought its face in close to Boruto’s ear. In a low voice, it said, “You three are ninja, right?”
“Yeah, b-but…” Boruto stammered. “What’s with you?”
“I have a favor to ask!” The cat mascot dragged Boruto by his hand into a back alley. Sarada and Mitsuki hurried after them.
The narrow alley was damp and deserted—of people, anyway. A real cat curled up on top of an oil drum fled, looking annoyed.
The cat mascot turned meekly back to the three ninja. “The truth is, I’m a little bit famous.”
But you’re a cat.
“Someone’s trying to kill me!”
But you’re a cat.
“I want you to protect me! I can pay!”
But you’re a cat.
The three ninja looked at one another doubtfully.
“Um, maybe we should go to the hospital first.” Mitsuki said as smoothly as possible.
The cat stomped on the ground. “I really am in trouble.” She popped off her costume’s head. Bright, wavy, golden hair came tumbling out.
The ninja gaped, three jaws dropping at once.
“Please…don’t let me die in a place like this!” pleaded Himeno Lily.