Chapter 277:
"You bastards! Who the hell are you people?! How dare you invade the Hidden Leaf Village?!"
The only female among the Sound Four, Tayuya, shouted furiously.
"Hey, Tayuya, don't use foul language..."
Jirōbō, who was particularly sensitive to profanity, tried to persuade her, only to receive a string of even harsher insults in return.
"You idiot! Moron! Fat pig!"
"Tayuya, enough cursing. Let's deal with these intruders who dared to break into the Hidden Sound Village first," Kidōmaru said. "It's been a while since I had a good game, after all."
"...Looks like Orochimaru never told his useless underlings about us."
Hoshigaki Kisame said indifferently.
"Cut the chatter. Finish them off quickly—we can't give Orochimaru any chance to escape," Kakuzu said as he formed hand seals. Then he slammed his hands on the ground. "Earth Release: Earthen Rising Spears!"
"Everyone, dodge!"
Thanks to his brother Sakon's warning, the Sound Four quickly leapt away, narrowly avoiding the sharp stone spikes that shot up from where they had just been standing.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A fireball the size of an adult erupted from Uchiha Itachi's mouth.
"What?!"
With nowhere to maneuver in mid-air, Tayuya was struck head-on by the massive fireball. One of the Sound Four was instantly killed.
"As expected of Lord Itachi. One move and he's already taken someone out."
Kisame looked at Itachi with admiration, his expression that of a fan gazing at his idol.
"Tayuya!"
While the Sound Four weren't exactly close, they had still spent years working together—there was at least some bond between them.
"Earth Release: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"
Jirōbō immediately used a jutsu to avenge Tayuya. Despite her constant cursing and the fact that she berated him every time he tried to stop her from swearing, he still wanted to avenge her.
Four walls of earth rose up, trapping the Akatsuki members inside.
"A jutsu that absorbs chakra, huh..."
Itachi looked around and remarked calmly.
"Our chakra should last a while, but that kid might not be so lucky. He'll probably die from chakra depletion pretty soon."
Kakuzu looked at Hanabi, who was being held in the arms of Future Boruto.
"Boruto..."
Cradled weakly in Future Boruto's arms, Hanabi gazed up at his face.
"Hanabi..."
Leaping lightly off the earth walls, Future Boruto carried her into the air.
"Don't let him escape!"
Jirōbō shouted to his comrades.
Kidōmaru and Sakon both hurled throwing weapons at the airborne Future Boruto.
But the Nine Tails' claws emerged from behind him, shielding him completely from the barrage.
"If none of you exist in the future, then killing you here won't change anything, will it?"
"Killing us? Don't be so full of yourself!"
As Sakon spoke, he activated his brother Ukon, who looked nearly identical to him. Ukon emerged from Sakon's body.
But before Ukon could even catch his breath after separating, Future Boruto was already on him, landing a solid kick that sent him flying.
At the same time, a fist formed from the Nine Tails' chakra claws slammed into Sakon, launching him as well.
"Let's wrap this up quickly."
Now outside the range of Jirōbō's jutsu, Hanabi's condition had improved slightly. Looking up at the one holding her, she couldn't help but think he actually looked kind of cool.
"Kurama!"
"Yes, Lord Boruto!"
The Nine Tails' chakra surged from Future Boruto's body, compressing into a massive golden fox head that charged toward Sakon and Ukon.
"Summoning Jutsu: Rashōmon!!"
After re-merging with Sakon, Ukon quickly formed hand seals and activated the Summoning Jutsu.
While the Rashōmon gates were among the highest-level defensive techniques in the shinobi world and demanded tremendous chakra, Sakon could only manage to summon a single gate.
The fox head smashed into the gate with ease, shattering it to pieces and demolishing much of the surrounding Sound Village buildings as well.
"Sakon!" Kidōmaru had barely shouted when Future Boruto appeared before him. "Such speed!"
The Nine Tails' chakra-formed fists pinned Kidōmaru to the ground, hammering him with a relentless barrage of punches.
…
"What a powerful chakra... Just what's going on out there?"
Kisame soothed Samehada, which was simultaneously eager to devour the chakra and trembling with fear.
Itachi said nothing—his actions spoke for him.
He leapt over the earth walls, and Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kisame followed closely behind.
What awaited them on the other side was Hanabi, now fully recovered, following behind Future Boruto. Sakon and Kidōmaru lay dead, while Jirōbō knelt, gravely injured, before Future Boruto. In one clean motion, Boruto drew the Kusanagi Sword and sliced through Jirōbō's neck.
"That guy doesn't mess around," Hidan remarked, feeling an involuntary shiver despite being truly immortal.
"His presence reminds me of the shinobi who survived from the Warring States Era."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as he looked at Future Boruto.
"Bo... Boruto, are you okay?"
Even Hanabi looked at him with a touch of fear—this was her first time witnessing someone be killed so decisively and coldly.
"Yeah. Don't worry, Hanabi. I'm fine," Future Boruto reassured her. Then he looked toward the gathered Akatsuki members. "I've taken care of everything."
"Hmm, not bad, rookie," Kakuzu said. "Let's hurry and find Orochimaru."
At that moment, the Akatsuki officially recognized Future Boruto's strength.
Only Uchiha Itachi, the double agent, maintained his usual indifferent expression—yet in truth, he was deeply troubled about the fate of the Leaf Village.
Once the others had gone off in search of Orochimaru, Zetsu poked his Venus flytrap-shaped head out from the ground.
"That chakra... it was terrifying. I almost died from the shock. When did the shinobi world get someone that frightening?"
The White Zetsu half muttered nervously.
"That chakra took the shape of a fox... Could it be the Nine Tails?" Black Zetsu furrowed his brow as he considered it, then shook his head and dismissed the thought. "No, it can't be the Nine Tails. The Nine Tails' chakra isn't that... pure."