The air around Boruto shimmered faintly, thick with celestial energy. A torrent of natural chakra surged into his body — uncontrollable, wild, divine — yet far beyond what his body could handle.
His breath hitched. "Tch… not good."
He hadn't realized his body had begun to automatically absorb natural energy. Without proper training in Sage Mode, the balance between physical energy, spiritual energy, and nature energy was impossible to control.
The consequence… was petrification.
Already, his skin was shifting — roughening, swelling — his limbs hardening like stone, and faint toad-like markings were spreading across his face.
No way. My plan hasn't even started yet — I can't die here!
Gritting his teeth, Boruto forced his trembling hands together, his voice low but resolute:
"—Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a resounding thud, hundreds of clones exploded into existence, filling the sacred field with the faint hum of chakra.
His body trembled as most of his chakra dispersed, relieving the mounting pressure from the overabundance of nature energy. Finally, he could breathe again — though his limbs still ached from the recoil.
He exhaled sharply. "That was… too close."
But the problem wasn't over. He could slow the absorption, not stop it. The air itself was alive with energy — impossible to escape.
Only one option remained.
"I'll just… make enough noise for the sages to notice."
His hands moved instinctively, chakra spiraling into his palm. A compact orb of energy grew brighter and louder, rapidly swelling until its glow obscured his form entirely.
"Sage Art: Giant Rasengan!"
The orb expanded to the size of a boulder, humming violently, natural chakra compressing within it. Boruto's arms strained, veins pulsing, until he finally hurled it forward.
The impact came like thunder.
BOOM—!
The explosion shook the entire mountain. Dust and smoke erupted skyward as a crater tens of meters deep appeared, the surrounding trees shredded by the Rasengan's sheer rotation force.
"...That should get someone's attention."
The ground trembled faintly. Moments later, a shadow loomed over him, blotting out the moonlight.
A massive toad landed before him, its bright red skin glistening under the light, a cigarette dangling casually from its mouth. A thick rope circled its waist, a huge blade strapped to its back.
"Who dares cause chaos on Mount Myōboku!?" the creature thundered.
Boruto squinted upward, stunned — that voice, that look…
"Wait, red skin, dagger, cigarette— Gamakichi?"
The toad peered down at him, narrowing his huge golden eyes. "Yo… Naruto?"
Boruto coughed. "I'm Boruto!"
"Huh?" Gamakichi blinked, lowering his head for a better look. "Uzumaki…? That hair — you're Naruto's kid, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
Gamakichi's posture immediately relaxed. "So it's true. You really take after your old man."
He looked around, puzzled. "You come alone?"
Boruto sighed. "It's… a long story. Got pulled in somehow."
Gamakichi nodded, exhaling a puff of smoke. "Sō ka… Then I'll take you to see the Great Sages. C'mon, hop on."
He extended his huge hand. Boruto hesitated for only a moment before climbing up. "Appreciate it."
The trip was brief, the landscape below vast and dreamlike. Finally, they arrived at a temple built into the mountain, its towering golden pillars glimmering in the lamplight.
At the center sat two familiar figures — the Great Toad Sages Fukasaku and Shima — and between them, the slumbering Great Toad Sage himself.
Boruto's eyes widened. "Exactly like the shows…" he murmured.
"Huh? Gamakichi, what's this about?" Shima's voice carried through the hall.
"I brought an acquaintance," Gamakichi replied, bowing slightly.
Boruto hopped down from his palm, the light from the oil lamps reflecting off his blond hair.
"You are…?"
Before either could guess, Gamakichi explained, "Naruto Uzumaki's son — Boruto."
"Ohhh." The two elders exchanged a knowing look. "So that's the one the Great Toad Sage mentioned."
"Naruto just left, and his son arrives? What timing," Fukasaku muttered.
Boruto rubbed his neck sheepishly. "So… I might've been dragged here because of some space-time mess."
Shima chuckled kindly. "Maybe your father sent you here to train."
That sounds suspiciously like dinner bait, Boruto thought grimly.
But before he could decline, both sages suddenly frowned. They could feel it — the natural energy swirling within him.
"This boy's absorbing nature chakra unconsciously!"
"And yet he hasn't turned to stone — incredible. His body's already compatible with Sage chakra."
The two looked at each other. "Naruto must've sent him here to learn Sage Mode!"
Boruto blinked. "Wait, I didn't—"
"Come, Boruto." Fukasaku gestured warmly. "Your father was once my disciple. Let me teach you where he once stood."
He led Boruto to a training ground nestled in the heart of the mountain. The smell of toad oil filled the air, and waterfalls of natural energy cascaded from glowing cliffs.
"This was where Naruto began his Sage training."
Boruto stared, captivated — the scenery was breathtaking.
But Fukasaku waved off the toad oil nearby. "Your physique's already beyond ordinary humans. You'll skip this step and begin with stillness."
He placed Boruto on a narrow plank suspended high above the valley, where even the clouds hung far below.
"Focus. Empty yourself. Feel nature flow through you, not around you."
Easier said than done.
Boruto sat cross-legged, trying to quiet his restless mind. The mountain breeze tugged at his hair, the height dizzying.
He inhaled — and nearly wobbled off.
"Man… this is worse than chakra control on water."
Still, he persisted. His shadow clones appeared beside him, each taking a seat on their own plank, forming a circle.
After receiving Toneri's chakra, his pseudo–Six Paths body gave him a chakra pool nearly ten times what he once had. Yet even with that, Sage training was something else entirely — it demanded not power, but balance.
Boruto closed his eyes, slowing his breath, feeling the pulse of the world around him — the wind, the frogs, the gentle hum of the mountain.
Slowly, his heartbeat matched the rhythm of nature itself.
A faint warmth spread across his skin. The markings on his face glowed softly, his chakra stabilizing as natural energy merged with it in perfect harmony.
Above Mount Myōboku, under a sky streaked with fading moonlight, Boruto Uzumaki — son of the Seventh Hokage — quietly began to master the same power that once defined his father:
Sage Mode.