It was still that same night — the moon bright, the stars scattered, the lamps burning late.
Inside the Hokage Building, Naruto sat beneath that pale glow, awake alongside the moon, his desk buried under a mountain of paperwork. Even for the Seventh Hokage, the weight of the village sometimes felt heavier than stone.
A soft creak — the office door slid open.
Shikamaru entered, his usual lazy expression hidden behind the rising steam of a coffee cup. "Take a break, Lord Seventh. As the pillar of the village, you can't afford to collapse."
Naruto chuckled wearily. "Ah, all my efforts for the happiness of the villagers." He accepted the cup, forcing a smile.
The dark circles beneath his eyes told the real story — exhaustion etched deep, almost comically so.
Before he could take a sip, a sharp bang echoed through the room. A communication toad appeared amid a puff of smoke, scroll in hand.
Naruto blinked in surprise. "A message from Mount Myōboku?"
Unfurling the scroll, he read silently. His expression shifted almost immediately.
[Naruto, the Great Toad Sage, has made a prophecy about the Chosen One. The ninja world is likely to face great trouble!]
Shikamaru leaned closer, brow raised. "What kind of message makes your face change 120 degrees like that?"
"Here, read for yourself." Naruto handed him the scroll.
Both men fell silent as they read.
"The Chosen One, huh?" Naruto muttered. "That's quite a title."
Shikamaru knew what Naruto was thinking — the same words had once been used for him. The Child of Prophecy. Jiraiya had searched for years before confirming it was Naruto who would change the fate of the ninja world.
And he had. Naruto's strength and conviction ended a war and opened an age of peace.
But now, another prophecy — another chosen child. Which meant another crisis.
"What kind of trouble this time…" Naruto sighed.
Shikamaru crossed his arms. "Why don't you head to Mount Myōboku yourself? I'll cover things here."
"Then I'll leave it to you." Naruto drained his coffee and turned to the toad. "Tell Fukasaku and Shima to summon me there."
At Mount Myōboku, the two elder sages stirred at the reply. It had been years since Naruto had last visited.
"Still as busy as ever," Fukasaku sighed.
"Let's bring him over," Shima said, weaving her hand seals. The Reverse Summoning Technique activated, and in a swirl of smoke, Naruto vanished from his office.
...
Far above, under that same moonlight, a small black silhouette streaked across the sky.
Two eyes gleamed through the darkness.
One — the Jōgan, its pale-blue radiance cutting through illusion and reality alike.
The other — the Tenseigan, patterned like a snowflake, alive with gravitational force.
With a controlled descent, Boruto's senses sharpened; every current of wind, every leaf vein, every flicker of light became crystalline in his sight.
Then suddenly — flash.
The Jōgan in his right eye blazed, flooding the night with light as bright as dawn. A swirling distortion appeared around him, warping space and swallowing him whole.
When the light vanished, the sky fell silent again — as though nothing had ever happened.
Boruto blinked. His body felt heavy, the air unfamiliar. He'd been dragged into a time-space vortex.
"The Jōgan… it must've reacted to some dimensional shift," he muttered. "Did it just pull me in automatically?"
He steadied himself and looked around. Vast leaves beneath his feet, sunlight filtering through giant plants, and in the distance — an enormous toad.
Mount Myōboku.
Boruto's eyes widened slightly, then relaxed. "Well, this isn't bad. Perfect chance to learn Sage techniques."
He'd seen this place on-screen countless times — the sacred land of toads, where Naruto had once trained.
Activating the Tenseigan's gravity control, he began to hover gently, adjusting chakra output to balance attraction and repulsion. Slowly, he learned to glide.
The natural energy here was immense — rich, warm, alive. Each breath felt like drawing in a forest. As he exhaled, the air itself shimmered faintly around him.
It felt… awakening.
...
Elsewhere, in the main hall, Naruto bowed lightly to his old mentors.
"Long time no see, Naruto," Fukasaku said warmly. "Thank you for all your hard work as Hokage."
"Long time no see, Grandpa Fukasaku, Granny Shima."
After brief greetings, Naruto asked, "What did the Great Toad Sage see this time?"
Shima scratched her cheek. "Well… the Sage's still asleep."
She brightened quickly. "But while we wait, come have a proper meal. You look like you haven't eaten in days!"
Before Naruto could answer, the immense figure of Gamamaru stirred. The Great Toad Sage opened his cloudy eyes, voice slow and ancient.
"This chosen one… is strange. Even I cannot see his origin. But I saw the future — when the ninja world faces its enemies, it is he who stands at the front, leading his comrades."
Naruto's expression tightened.
"Enemies? Ones, even I can't stop?"
"I do not know," Gamamaru said softly. "I did not see you in that future. Only a boy… with heterochromatic eyes. He turned the tide and saved the ninja world."
A heavy silence filled the hall.
Kaguya's name was mentioned — the progenitor of chakra.
Memories of the war years flashed before Naruto's eyes — that desperate battle, the sealing with Sasuke's help, the divine power they'd barely controlled.
"If that's true," he said quietly, "the world might be heading for another great war."
"Kaguya sacrificed countless humans to build her White Zetsu army," Gamamaru continued. "All to prepare against the others of her clan — the Ōtsutsuki from beyond the stars."
Shima and Fukasaku looked grave.
"Then how do we find this Child of Destiny?" Shima asked.
Gamamaru's gaze dimmed again. "He hides in shadow. If a true prodigy wishes not to be found, not even the keenest sensor could locate him. But when the crisis comes, he will appear."
Naruto thought briefly of Sasuke — his friend wandering far beyond the village. Could it be someone he trained in secret?
Before he could speak, Gamamaru's eyelids drooped. "Hmm… Mount Myōboku seems to have another guest…"
And with that, the Great Toad Sage drifted back into sleep.
"The Sage… fell asleep again," Fukasaku sighed.
"But who could he mean by another guest?" Shima wondered. "You didn't bring anyone, did you, Naruto?"
Naruto shook his head. "I came alone."
"Strange," Fukasaku murmured. "Could it be someone summoned by mistake?"
He entered Sage Mode to search. Natural energy flowed around him — yet there was nothing.
"That's odd. I can't sense a thing," he said, brow furrowing.
In truth, Boruto, now saturated with natural energy, was hidden perfectly — indistinguishable from the environment itself.
"Maybe the guest hasn't arrived yet," Shima guessed.
Naruto exhaled slowly. "Whoever this Child of Destiny is… I need to be ready. If what the Sage said is true, we might face something beyond anything we've seen."
He turned toward the exit. "Thank you, Grandpa Fukasaku, Granny Shima. I'll return now."
"Won't you stay for breakfast?" Shima asked hopefully.
Naruto smiled faintly. "Next time. There's too much waiting back home."
The sages nodded. "Take care, Naruto."
And under the fading moonlight, the Seventh Hokage vanished — unaware that, somewhere nearby, his own son hovered unseen, the glow of his Jōgan faintly reflected in the sacred mist of Mount Myōboku.