Twelve years before the start of the series, the Nine-TailsattackedKonohagakure, destroying much of the village and taking many lives. The leader of the village, the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails into a newborn, Naruto Uzumaki. Orphaned by the attack, Naruto was shunned by the villagers, who out of fear and anger, viewed him as the Nine-Tails itself. Though the Third Hokage outlawed speaking about anything related to the Nine-Tails, the children — taking their cues from their parents — inherited the same animosity towards Naruto. In his thirst to be acknowledged, Naruto vowed he would one day become the greatest Hokage the village had ever seen. Read more...
Kawaki stares at his fallen prosthetic hand. Sarada asks him what happened. Boruto and Mitsuki arrive. Sarada tells them Naruto is missing. Shikamaru arrives with backup and pins Kawaki down with his shadow. Shikamaru says what the Sensor Unit reported to him and demands an explanation from Kawaki. He gives a signal to a subordinate, and a barrier goes up around the house. Shikamaru explains it's to both keep Kawaki from fleeing and keeping enemy reinforcements out. Shikamaru orders his subordinates to look in the house in pairs for clues. He unpins Kawaki and asks what happened. Kawaki explains Jigen suddenly appeared when his Kāma began hurting, forming a a crack in the air. Shikamaru recognises it as space–time ninjutsu. Sarada questions why he'd take Naruto if he was after Kawaki, who explains it was to eliminate Naruto for interfering. Shikamaru and Mitsuki note that if it was just to take him out of the day, it would only take a moment, leading Shikamaru to deduce they're either still fighting, or that best case scenario, Naruto defeated Jigen but can't come back. Boruto mentions Sasuke, who he knows to have space–time ninjutsu, but Shikamaru hasn't heard from him since his most recent mission. Shikamaru asks if there's anything else Kawaki hasn't said. He bluntly says he has never trusted Kawaki, and suspects Kawaki has been a Kara member all along, Naruto's disappearance only deepening his concern. Read more...
Naruto complains how early they have to train, and that Boruto lied about being a ninja. Boruto says that he's on a secret mission, so he can't freely share his name and identity. Naruto decides to trust him. Jiraiya wants to train Naruto and Boruto to synchronise their chakra, having noticed their chakra are very similar, to the point it synchronised in their last battle. However, he doesn't know what kind of Cooperation Ninjutsu they'll end up developing. They try it, but fail, and Jiraiya explains that to do it properly, their chakra nature, power, and flow must be aligned. Since Jiraiya states their chakra nature is already similar, they need to focus on power and flow, his observation earning praise from Jiraiya. They try it again, but the trauma of being attacked by Naruto when the Nine-Tails' chakra made him rampage hinders Boruto's performance. Jiraiya asks them what they visualise then trying to sync, and based on Boruto's answer, he confirms he knows the Rasengan, much to Naruto's surprise. Boruto realises that if they both try to sync visualising the Rasengan, the power and flow of their chakra will be better aligned. Jiraiya wants them to go back to Rasengan basics, and gives them a rubber ball to pop. They're unable to do it, but are in sync enough to expand it a bit. Jiraiya leaves them training to run an errand, how they'll do, and observes Sasuke keeping an eye on them from a distance. Read more...
