Chapter 270:
Land of Fire. Ancient Artifact Research Institute.
"Hand it over, old man."
Evilmoku walked up to the elderly man wearing reading glasses, who was tightly clutching a ceramic bowl in his arms.
"Never! This belongs to the Land of Fire!"
"No—it belongs to the Ōtsutsuki clan!"
"What proof do you have?!"
"The mechanism on this item can only be activated by someone from the Ōtsutsuki clan..." As he finished speaking, Evilmoku extended his right hand, and in response, the ceramic bowl in the old man's arms began to emit a green light. "Awaken—Rii."
The ceramic bowl suddenly transformed into the shape of a turtle, its soft limbs and head stretching out adorably.
"Authentication complete. Activation initiated."
"A talking turtle?!"
The old researcher was shocked.
"Hmph, ignorant old man," Evilmoku scoffed disdainfully.
"I am a Sacred Tool—Rii. Please allow me to explain the usage precautions. Now confirming operational procedure. If the sequence is incorrect, functionality may be impaired. Chakra infusion is required for activation by Ōtsutsuki... Lord Urashiki... After infusion, proceed with spatial navigation settings..."
"Tch, such a pain. I knew turtles were slow and annoying..."
Before he could finish complaining, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki was suddenly struck and sent flying.
"You okay, Ji-chan?"
"Mm..." The old man on the ground adjusted his reading glasses while still clutching the turtle. "Ah, Boruto... I'm fine."
"Damn it..."
Evilmoku, who had been sent flying by Future Boruto's kick, scrambled back to his feet, glaring fiercely at him. However, he didn't make another move—anyone capable of trading blows with the Imperial Armor wasn't someone he could handle right now.
Dark mist began to swirl around Evilmoku, enveloping him completely.
"Ji-chan, where's the ancient artifact I need to bring back?"
Only after confirming Evilmoku had left did Future Boruto turn to the elderly man behind him.
"...It's this."
The old man raised the pink turtle.
"...It's just a turtle."
"It was an artifact, but I don't know what that guy did to it—it turned into a turtle."
Future Boruto looked puzzled as he accepted the turtle.
"Chakra source detected. Time-space traversal enabled."
"Time-space... traversal..."
Staring at the turtle in his hand, Future Boruto's expression turned thoughtful. As he channeled a vast amount of chakra into it, the turtle once again began to change.
The shell unfolded, releasing a beam of light that enveloped Future Boruto.
"Eh? Where'd he go?"
Only Ji-chan was left, utterly baffled in the middle of the research institute.
——
"Where is this place?"
Future Boruto looked around.
The space was dazzling and multicolored, filled with countless black holes.
"Please confirm destination space."
Upon hearing the turtle speak again, Future Boruto furrowed his brows slightly—he had no idea how to confirm the destination space.
"...When did this happen?"
He frowned again, suddenly noticing a red string tied to his wrist, stretching toward one of the black holes in the mysterious space.
The string gave a slight tug on his wrist.
"Is it pointing... there?"
Following the gentle pull of the red string, he looked ahead and moved toward it. A faint suction emanated from the black hole connected to the string.
He slowly reached out, touching the surface of the black hole.
His vision blurred as dazzling colors flashed before his eyes, the intense light making him instinctively squint.
——
When he opened his eyes again, night had fallen.
"Where am I..." Future Boruto glanced around. Finally, his gaze landed on his wrist, where the red string was still tied. "This string... I think it's the artifact I brought back from the research institute. And my body-swap with Sister Hanabi—didn't that start right after I got this red string...?"
A theory began forming in Future Boruto's mind. Following the direction the string pointed, he walked forward, eventually leaving the forest and arriving at a small town.
"This really is the old Konoha Village!"
Seeing the familiar surroundings and the iconic Hokage Rock, Future Boruto confirmed he had returned to the past.
Along the way, the long, conspicuously red string connecting him to Hanabi didn't attract the attention of any passersby.
"It seems like... I'm the only one who can see this string," Future Boruto muttered as he looked at his wrist. "But now's not the time to overthink—I need to find Sister Hanabi quickly."
On the outskirts of Konoha Village.
The Root base.
"She's in there."
Wearing a mask to hide his identity, and relying on the sensory abilities of Sage Mode, Future Boruto infiltrated the Root base with relative ease.
Underground prison of Root.
"Miss Hanabi, my patience has limits. Tell me—where did you get that powerful chakra inside you?"
Shimura Danzō leaned on his cane as he stood in front of the cell, speaking to the small figure curled up inside.
The girl sat huddled in a corner, arms wrapped around her knees, head bowed.
"That's the Nine-Tails' chakra."
A voice came from the shadows—Future Boruto, masked, stepped into the light and addressed Danzō directly.
By now, he fully understood why Danzō had targeted Hanabi. It was because, while controlling her body, Boruto had received the Nine-Tails' chakra from Minato.
"So the Fifth Hokage really is incompetent—didn't expect a rat to still be hiding in the village. Who are you?"
Future Boruto didn't answer. Instead, he rushed toward Danzō.
"Protect the Lord!"
The two Root shinobi flanking Danzō stepped forward at once to intercept Boruto.
With a tap of his right hand on the ninja tool pouch on his waist, a capsule was ejected. As he gripped it, the capsule instantly transformed into a Kusanagi Sword.
Before the two Root ninja could react, Future Boruto had already taken them down.
"Not bad. If you're willing to serve me, I may consider overlooking your earlier offense."
Despite seeing his subordinates cut down, Danzō showed no fear or sorrow. In fact, he tried to recruit Boruto on the spot.
The old Danzō would've never acted like this. But after acquiring countless Sharingan, he seemed to possess a newfound, unwarranted confidence.
Faced with Danzō's offer, Future Boruto responded with a Rasengan.
"A Rasengan?" Danzō blinked in mild surprise. But the body struck turned into a wooden log—it was a substitution. Danzō, leaning on his cane, stepped out from behind Future Boruto and said, "Now I'm really curious about who you are."