Not long after Boruto and Sarada left, Chōjūrō and Mei Terumī hurried over, drawn by the sound of explosions.
They had assumed another powerful enemy had appeared. If that were true, they would truly have to fight to the death.
But when they arrived, all they saw was dark mist drifting in the air and a grotesque pattern of blood and scattered flesh on the ground.
"This…"
"Who dealt with the enemy already?"
They exchanged a glance and spoke at the same time.
"Boruto?!"
But Boruto was nowhere to be found.
And from the timing, the battle had ended in less than five minutes.
The two of them had exhausted themselves just to defeat one opponent, yet here someone had ended a fight almost instantly.
Was it a different enemy group?
There was no time to dwell on it.
If the spreading Black Mist wasn't handled, the Land of Water would still fall.
…
Hidden Mist Village — temporary relief center.
Medical-nin worked frantically.
Civilians had long since fallen unconscious, but even injured shinobi were now patients. They lay weakly on stretchers, as if suffering from a severe fever, though no external wounds could be seen.
"Is there still no progress on the vaccine?" Chōjūrō asked.
"These jonin managed to rescue some people purely through willpower," a medical-nin replied. "We still don't know what kind of pathogen this is. For now, it only causes paralysis and weakness. It hasn't become lethal yet."
"We still have time… to create a countermeasure before it mutates further."
That was the firm judgment of the head doctor.
"Then I leave it to you," Chōjūrō said. "Mei-sama and I will try to suppress the spread."
"Please be careful, Mizukage-sama! Terumī-sama!"
The medical staff watched them leave with determination in their eyes. They had to develop a solution as soon as possible.
…
The two stood once more atop a tall building, overlooking the village.
"What if we use heavy rain to wash away the mist?" Chōjūrō suggested.
Mei Terumī shook her head. "The affected area is too large. Scattered rainwater won't be effective."
"There is another method. Seal off the entire infected zone so it can't spread further."
Mei Terumī frowned. "The villagers will resist that. And we don't have enough chakra to maintain something on that scale."
She sighed.
She had already sent for help from Konoha. Naruto probably never imagined that Kirigakure would suffer two disasters within days.
Chōjūrō had only dared to propose a large-scale containment because he knew Konoha's greatest medical-nin and her apprentice would soon arrive.
Even if Kirigakure's medical capabilities were strained, they had powerful allies.
"Speaking of Boruto," Chōjūrō said suddenly, "with the chakra of a jinchūriki, he should be able to create a barrier on that scale, right?"
"…Perhaps," Mei Terumī replied quietly.
Konoha's future was bright, especially with a genius like Boruto.
Meanwhile, Kirigakure had lost six of the Seven Ninja Swords. Their strength had declined sharply, and Kagura was still not ready to shoulder everything.
Everyone was betting on the rise of the next generation.
And Boruto stood at the center of that hope.
…
They arrived at the hotel.
Boruto was not there.
After asking the students, they learned only one thing.
Boruto and Sumire had gone out early in the morning and had not returned.
Given Boruto's personality, he would never ignore such chaos in Kirigakure.
Masaka…
Chōjūrō and Mei Terumī's expressions darkened.
Neither dared to voice the terrible thought forming in their minds.
"Mizukage-sama, what's happening outside? Why are we under house arrest?" a student asked nervously.
"There's a small issue," Chōjūrō reassured them. "It will be resolved soon. Don't worry."
The hotel had plenty of facilities. Staying inside for a while was safe.
Nearby, Iwabe and the others were playing cards.
"Is Boruto addicted to dating? He's been out all day," Iwabe muttered.
"Maybe it's the last day, so they wanted to make memories," Shikadai said lazily.
Metal nodded seriously, though he didn't quite understand.
Everyone's eyes shifted to Mitsuki, who sat quietly by the window.
Would he suddenly disappear again to go find Boruto?
Mitsuki noticed something.
In the distance, dark particles floated in the air.
In his hand was a small note Boruto had given him earlier.
After reading it, Mitsuki quietly vanished.
The others assumed he had gone to look for Boruto again.
…
Outside.
Mitsuki first noticed the two Mizukage attempting to manipulate seawater to form a massive water curtain over the infected area.
But the scale was too large.
Even with their chakra, covering a hundred miles was the limit. And the water barrier required constant chakra to maintain.
Mitsuki silently used Wind Release to isolate a small cluster of the Black Mist, sealing it inside a container.
Then he summoned a communication snake.
[Father, Boruto hopes you can analyze the composition of this Black Mist and develop an inhibitor.]
After sending the message, Mitsuki returned quietly to the hotel and resumed his place by the window, calmly observing the scenery.
…
After nightfall, Mei Terumī and Chōjūrō returned to the hotel.
Boruto still had not returned.
Only then did they realize something was truly wrong.
That battle earlier—
Either Boruto had killed the enemy instantly…
Or the enemy had taken Boruto.
All they had seen was a pool of blood and scattered flesh. Without any way to identify it, they couldn't determine who had died there.
They could only hope…
It wasn't Sumire.
And now they faced another terrifying problem.
How were they supposed to explain this to Naruto, who was on his way?
---
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