Momoshiki hadn't heard the conversation between Naruto and Shikamaru, as he was running straight toward the Hyuga Clan estate.
Along the way, he kept thinking about how to sneak into the Hyuga territory amidst the heightened activity. Since Hinata had brought Boruto here after he woke up, the Hyuga had been vigilant, guarding the entrance to their estate. The patrolling ninja naturally recognized him. If he walked in with his own face, he would likely be questioned. He would have to wait until the guards changed shifts or finished their patrol.
Momoshiki observed near the Hyuga estate entrance, relying entirely on his sensory abilities. Perhaps because of their Byakugan, Hyuga ninja had an extraordinary sensitivity to being watched. If someone met their gaze directly, they would immediately look back. That meant he could only rely on perception to scout.
The spiritual power of the Ōtsutsuki clan was extraordinarily strong, almost impervious to genjutsu. Yet not all Ōtsutsuki trained in spiritual energy only those awakened with spiritual doujutsu could. These lower-ranking Ōtsutsuki excelled in such abilities. High-ranking Ōtsutsuki usually awakened space-time doujutsu or even rules-based doujutsu. The Takamagahara Technique also fell under space-time doujutsu. Its principle was to absorb chakra with the right-hand Rinnegan, forming a conversion space. Within this space, all chakra was controlled by Momoshiki, whether breaking down ninjutsu into pure chakra or injecting chakra back into techniques to enhance their power, eventually releasing it through the left-hand Rinnegan.
While waiting, Momoshiki created new jutsu. As a spiritual body, he felt no fatigue, and his thought process was incredibly fast. It was fair to say that he was naturally gifted for research.
"Sigh, I can't develop jutsu like this there isn't enough inspiration or reference material. I'll have to look at the sealing scrolls, see what our forbidden-jutsu master, the Second Hokage, devised, and use it as guidance," Momoshiki muttered to himself. After some thought, he decided to consult the sealing scrolls.
"Oh, they're changing shifts. Time to move," Momoshiki noticed as the Hyuga patrol began switching.
Striding boldly toward the estate gate, Momoshiki was surprised when the two guards who had just relieved their posts didn't react at all. They let him pass without even activating their Byakugan. Were they really this careless? He couldn't dwell on it now; he had a mission to complete. He headed straight into the Hyuga forest.
"Hm… Byakugan fruits? You need the Byakugan to see these; to the naked eye, they look like ordinary fruit. Seems… deliberately hidden," Momoshiki muttered, opening the mission appendix to read the collection requirements. He was tempted to complain but decided against it.
"Forget it. Who knows how many of these things exist in the ninja world? I'll just collect them all first." He focused on completing the task.
Activating the Byakugan, Momoshiki scanned the forest. Sure enough, some fruits on the trees glowed faintly blue. Damn, these were mini chakra fruits! No wonder only the Byakugan could detect them; the chakra inside was invisible to normal sight. Finally, he had located a source of energy.
Feeling he had found a temporary power supply, Momoshiki began harvesting the Byakugan fruits with vigor.
After a full day's work, Momoshiki looked at the fruits in his hands, a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face, much like an old farmer surveying a bountiful harvest.
"All right, all right, now I can enjoy myself until I separate from Boruto," he said, letting out a laugh that could only belong to the Grand Elder of the spiritual hall.
Suddenly, a voice called from nearby in the forest:
"When do you think that kid will come out?"
"Who's here? Wait, this is so close to the main base… Could someone be lying in wait just to trouble Boruto? I'd better check it out," Momoshiki thought, tensing up.