Chapter 282:
Using the Magic Lantern Body Technique, the members of the Akatsuki gathered together in illusionary form.
"Why are you so slow?"
Tendō Pain looked toward Deidara and Sasori as he spoke.
"Because the Jinchūriki was a lot more troublesome than we expected..."
Sasori replied.
"So even the senior's speed is slower than mine, huh?"
Tobi laced his fingers behind his head and grinned at Deidara.
"You idiot, shut up! No matter what you say, this One-Tail Jinchūriki is still the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand. This is basically the same as fighting an entire shinobi village!"
Deidara snapped back.
"Enough. Get ready—he's the last one we need."
At Tendō Pain's command, Deidara and Sasori performed the summoning technique together, bringing out the Ten Tails within a cave.
Each Akatsuki member stood on one of the Ten Tails' fingers, forming hand seals.
"From here on, we'll need three full days. During this time, everyone be mindful of your real bodies."
Tendō Pain then turned to Zetsu. "Also, Zetsu—use your real body to scout the area."
"Understood,"
Zetsu replied.
"Three whole days... this is gonna be boring."
Hanabi muttered as she obediently formed hand seals.
"Hanabi, your chakra won't be much help with the sealing. So I need you to guard my real body from the outside. That okay with you?"
Future Boruto looked at her.
"Fair enough."
Konan nodded and looked at Tendō Pain.
"Hm. Then it's settled."
Tendō Pain gave Hanabi a glance, then looked meaningfully at Future Boruto.
"Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragon Nine Consuming Seals!"
...
"An enemy is approaching. Strong—Konoha's jōnin, Might Guy."
Zetsu's illusion maintained the hand seal as he spoke.
"Use that technique to deal with him,"
Tendō Pain said.
"But it does consume quite a bit of chakra..."
"Let me handle it,"
Future Boruto offered.
"True. You're the best suited for it now,"
Tendō Pain agreed.
Since Future Boruto joined the Akatsuki, the person with the most chakra in the organization was no longer Kisame—it was Boruto.
"Boruto? You're awake? I thought the sealing needed three full days."
Hanabi turned to him in surprise.
"Someone's coming. I need to intercept them."
"I'll come too."
Hanabi followed Boruto out of the cave.
Meanwhile—
The lead summoning hound sniffed the air.
"What is it?"
Might Guy asked, trailing behind.
They'd encountered Kakashi's ninken while en route to the Hidden Sand, and their mission had shifted to rescuing Gaara.
"Someone's coming this way,"
the ninken replied.
"Byakugan—activate!"
Hyūga Neji, following close behind Might Guy, opened his Byakugan.
"Up ahead—two people!"
As the group moved through the forest, the view ahead gradually opened up.
"Hanabi... Miss Hanabi..."
Neji looked at her with a conflicted expression. After the Chūnin Exams, his resentment toward the main branch had long since faded.
"That guy..."
Might Guy's face grew grim as he stared at the figure beside Hanabi—Future Boruto.
"Sensei, do you know him?"
Tenten picked up on Guy's change in demeanor and asked.
"Yeah. That guy escaped the Hidden Leaf that night even after Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and I teamed up against him. He's a powerful one."
Might Guy nodded, eyes locked on Future Boruto.
Though Might Guy wasn't great at remembering faces, he never forgot those who earned his respect through strength.
"What?! He escaped after fighting four Konoha jōnin?!"
Tenten stared at Future Boruto in disbelief.
"I never thought he'd turn out to be part of the Akatsuki..."
Might Guy took a deep breath.
"Miss Hanabi, why did you join the Akatsuki?"
Neji looked at her, just as shocked.
According to the clan, Hanabi had been abducted by a mysterious figure and was still missing, her life or death unknown. Given her status in the main family, the Hyūga hadn't even issued a search announcement.
Some even suspected her eyes had already been gouged out by her captor.
"That's... a long story,"
Hanabi replied.
"Eight Gates Released Formation—Seventh Gate, Gate of Wonder: Open!"
Blue steam erupted from around Might Guy.
"Hanabi, I'll handle Might Guy. You take care of the other three."
Boruto said.
"Got it. Don't worry."
Hanabi nodded in agreement.
With her current strength, even handling Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten simultaneously wasn't a problem for her.
"Haa!"
Might Guy charged at Future Boruto. With the Seventh Gate opened, his speed surged beyond even the Sixth Gate's level.
Future Boruto immediately entered Super Sage Fox Mode to counter.
In an instant, Guy reached Boruto and drove his right knee into Boruto's abdomen, launching him into the air. He then leapt up after him and unleashed a flurry of punches.
"Morning Peacock!"
The high-speed straight punches ignited the air through friction, generating shockwaves and flames that pelted Boruto.
"I'm not done yet! Daytime Tiger!"
While Morning Peacock scatters force, Daytime Tiger is a focused strike—air compressed to the extreme, then unleashed in a tiger-shaped blast. It's a taijutsu technique that can only be used after opening the Seventh Gate.
"Is it over...?"
Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee had all distanced themselves from Hanabi. Neji wiped sweat from his brow as he spoke.
"After taking both of Guy-sensei's top techniques from the Eight Gates, there's no way that guy could've survived..."
Rock Lee said—just as two golden Nine Tails claws shot out from the dust kicked up by Guy's attack and reached toward the falling Might Guy.
"What?!"
Not only Guy, but Neji, Lee, and Tenten all wore stunned expressions.
"That was really close, Lord Boruto."
From within his body, Kurama spoke with lingering fear.
If Kurama hadn't protected Boruto with chakra in time, that technique would have left Boruto severely injured.
"Thanks, Kurama."
Boruto said.
"D-Don't mention it, Lord Boruto,"
Kurama replied quickly.
Future Boruto looked up at Might Guy, who was now trapped in mid-air by the two golden claws.
"Dammit..."
Might Guy struggled, but couldn't break free.
"I can't... get loose!"
"This is bad! We've got to save Guy-sensei!"
Rock Lee shouted and charged toward Boruto.
"Hey! Lee! You... seriously!"
Tenten had no choice but to follow behind.
Neji cast one last glance at Hanabi, then followed after Tenten as well.