Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

Boruto snapped out of his daze, realizing that he'd spoken without thinking again.

This is not the first or second time he has done this, but this is not the future world he was used to, and a single careless word could have serious consequences here.

Fortunately for Boruto, Sasuke didn't seem to care much for strangers and ignored him entirely.

Instead, he walked straight to Naruto and asked, "I've never seen this guy before. Where did you abduct him from?"

"What do you mean, 'abduct'?"

Naruto sighed, rubbing his forehead, 'So much for trying to maintain a respectable image in front of Boruto… If I had known things would turn out like this, I might not have brought him along at all.'

Still, Naruto found the situation rather amusing, 'The current Sasuke was quite different from the dignified master Boruto admired in the future.'

'Sasuke's nonchalant, edgy demeanor here was bound to clash with Boruto's idealized image of his 'master'. And somewhere in the shadows, the older Sasuke was probably grinding his teeth at the scene.'

"This is Boruto, a traveling performer from outside. I was concerned he might be a spy, so I decided to keep an eye on him." Naruto explained.

Hearing this, Sasuke frowned slightly. He knew Naruto very well and knew that Naruto would not worry about other people's affairs.

After all, there were people from other villages coming in and out every day, so why did Naruto only focus on Boruto? Clearly, there was something special about Boruto.

"A performer? So, what kind of tricks can you do?" Sasuke asked.

"I… um…"

Boruto hesitated for a moment.

He wasn't actually a performer, and Sasuke's question had him momentarily stumped.

Naruto shook his head and decided to give him a hint, "Boruto, you showed me a trick just yesterday, remember?"

"Yesterday?"

The reminder sparked Boruto's memory. He quickly formed a series of hand seals, and with a poof, a cloud of smoke appeared, then a sexy girl in a bikini walked out from the white smoke.

"This…"

Seeing that it was a seduction technique, Sasuke was speechless, but he also understood why Naruto was keeping an eye on Boruto.

'So that's it… Naruto had found a kindred spirit.'

While plenty of people knew how to use the Transformation Technique, the only ones Sasuke had ever seen use Sexy Technique were Naruto and Konohamaru. Now, Boruto had joined the ranks of those who had developed this rather peculiar skill.

Naruto's interest in Boruto was clearly sparked by admiration, but also by a sense of shared quirkiness.

"Forget it, do as you please, I'm going back to my training."

Sasuke said, stretching briefly before dashing forward, his figure blurring as he moved across the training ground and toward the nearby lake.

"What a fast speed!"

Boruto couldn't help but exclaim. He was genuinely impressed by the young Sasuke's agility.

Not only had Sasuke moved so swiftly into the water, but he'd also managed not to disturb the surface, not even creating a ripple. The level of Chakra Control required to accomplish that feat was astounding, and Boruto knew he couldn't do it himself.

He could tell that Sasuke was not showing off his skills on purpose. The fact that he could do such difficult moves as easily as naturally as breathing showed that this was not only due to his excellent talent, but also due to his relentless dedication to training.

"Impressed? That level of skill doesn't come without hard work." Naruto said with a smile.

Hearing this, Boruto pursed his lips, not knowing what to say for a moment.

In the future, he'd often heard people say that his generation was the weakest yet, that previous generations of Shinobi had worked far harder.

He'd always brushed off these remarks, dismissing them as the complaints of outdated traditionalists who were only strong because they'd had long lives to gain experience.

He had never considered that, at his age, people like Sasuke were already that strong.

And here he was, watching someone even stronger than himself training harder than he ever had.

'Why was I so ordinary yet so confident before?'

'Who gave me the confidence?

'Had it come from everyone constantly calling me the 'Hokage's son', so I assumed he was naturally gifted?'

Boruto used to see the 'Hokage's son' label as a burden, something he wanted to shake off to prove he could earn respect on his own. Yet that very label had subtly inflated his blind confidence.

But now he realized that without that label, he was… nothing.

Maybe one stronger person was just a coincidence, but two? That was proof of genuine hard work!

"Hah!"

A determined shout jolted Boruto from his thoughts. He turned to see a girl with her hair in two buns standing by the lake.

Seeing this person, Boruto actually felt a little more comforted.

'There's no way everyone here is stronger than me!'

"Are you gasping or grunting? If you're tired, take a break. If not, let me step in!"

Naruto called outwith a frown.

"I can hold on a bit longer!"

Tenten took a deep breath, focusing on the two people in the lake, "This is my last bit of strength, be careful!"

As she said that, she pulled out four large scrolls.

"Storm of a Thousand Piercings!"

Leaping into the air, she unfurled all four scrolls, unleashing a barrage of kunai, shuriken, and throwing knives.

Seeing this, Boruto couldn't help but smirk.

"What are you laughing at? Think you could do better?" Naruto frowned.

Boruto replied smugly, "Anyone can toss some scrolls around and throw out weapons. Even children who haven't graduated from the Academy can do it. As expected, the strong ones are still a minority."

"Oh, really? Then watch carefully, the real show is about to start. Don't blink!" Naruto replied with a playful smile on his face.

Boruto didn't take it seriously, but at the next moment, he froze in shock, practically petrified on the spot.

After careful observation, he found that the Ninja Tools that were shot out seemed chaotic, but none of them collided with each other. Each Ninja Tool followed a precise trajectory, narrowly missing contact before weaving into a flawless kill zone that left no gaps. If he'd been the target, he truly would have been shredded to pieces.

But Boruto was skeptical, convinced it had to be coincidence.

After all, while a thirteen-year-old girl has a strong Chakra or physical strength from her talent, this level of weapon mastery would take countless years of training. So even if Tenten started training from birth, he felt it shouldn't be possible to achieve this by age thirteen.

Ding!

A crisp sound broke the silence, and Boruto burst out laughing, "See? I knew she was just throwing it randomly. It was just a coincidence just now."

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of clangs and clinks rang out. The more Boruto listened, the smugger he became.

"Are you sure you're seeing this clearly?" Naruto asked lightly.

"I…"

Boruto wanted to say yes, but uncertainty crept in, and he took another look.

It would have been better if he hadn't looked at it, but when he did, his heart almost stopped.

The sounds of clashing Ninja Tools, which had seemed chaotic, were actually part of a rhythm. The Ninja Tools didn't merely collide, they nudged each other in coordinated moves, each push propelling the previous weapon forward with a sudden burst of speed. Slower kunai were struck from behind by faster projectiles, accelerating them further in a continuous spiral, a whirling storm of blades.

In that moment, Boruto felt as though each Ninja Tools had a soul. Every shuriken and kunai was an individual entity, yet they worked together as a cohesive unit, forming a terrifying vortex of bladed fury.

'Is this really something a human can do?'

Boruto's confidence was thoroughly shattered.

Just moments ago, he'd been about to mock Tenten, only to realize that she was the true powerhouse here. Such control over Ninja Tools was beyond even most Jonin.

Not only that, he remembered what Tenten mentioned this was her 'last bit of strength'.

'If this was her on the verge of exhaustion, how terrifying would she be at her peak?'

Looking at the Ninja Tools flying towards the young Sasuke, Boruto gulped and couldn't help but muttered in his heart, 'It's over. I'm afraid little master is doomed...'