I think we made it out safely.
So, this means we're back?
Yeah, I wonder how far we wandered off.
Anyway, I'm so glad, Cho-Cho!
Wait, what are you talking about?
Come to think of it, my shoulders feel sorta heavy…
and my memory's spotty here and there.
Well, it might be better if you don't remember.
What is it? I wanna know!
Boruto.
Mitsuki isn't a traitor, after all.
We have to meet up with him and talk to him…right away!
Everyone's Motives
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
Is it true he's regained consciousness?
Yes.
Can we talk to him for a bit?
Just not for an extended period of time…
Okay, I got it.
How are you feeling?
I'm managing.
I'm sorry, I know it's hard to talk, but please tell us.
Who took Mitsuki?
Thinking back to who Mitsuki was speaking to…
They were shinobi from…
the Hidden Stone.
What were they talking about?
I'm sure…
they asked if he wanted to come to the Land of Earth with them.
After that, an unidentified person that seemed like a puppet came
and he took Mitsuki away.
"Towards the setting moon…"
So that means the Hidden Stone.
We need to notify the Tracking Unit
that they're headed for the Land of Earth.
Yeah.
Thank you very much.
I was right. Mitsuki isn't a traitor.
– Uh-huh. – Uh-huh.
We can't be so sure yet.
From my viewpoint,
Mitsuki might have gone with the Hidden Stone shinobi willingly.
Even if he did, I'm sure he had a reason!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have left the snake behind.
Not only that, those guys said the answer Mitsuki seeks
is in the Land of Earth.
I'm sure Mitsuki went with them to find out.
And if that's so, even if I have to enter the Land of Earth,
I'm not going back until I see Mitsuki.
Ah, what a drag!
In that case, I have a plan.
Cho-Cho and Inojin, go back to the village for now.
– Huh? – Huh?
We've always gone through tough times together, haven't we?
I don't understand the reason behind this.
That's right!
It feels like you're discharging us from battle and I don't like it.
You've got it all wrong.
As things are, we won't be able to get to Mitsuki
before he crosses into the Land of Earth.
That's why we have to let the village know
there's a possibility Mitsuki's innocent.
It's not a "possibility," Mitsuki is innocent!
Calm down.
Shouldn't we let the village know before Mitsuki crosses into
the Land of Earth under suspicion of being a criminal?
But!
Just hear me out.
Moegi Sensei should be back at the village by now.
Once our dads know what's going on and take action,
it would be easy for them to bring us back, as well as Mitsuki.
The fact that they haven't already, means…
You think they're… waiting to see what happens?
Probably…
That's why we have to notify the village about Mitsuki.
And for that, you two are the perfect ones for the job!
I see. I got it.
Well, okay! I'm the type of woman that just can't refuse
when someone is depending on me that much.
I'm sorry, Sarada.
I won't be able to go with you.
It's okay.
I agree totally with Shikadai.
Now that it's decided, we'd better hurry.
I'm counting on you two.
Be careful.
That's my line to you, Sarada.
Promise me you'll convince them that Mitsuki's innocent.
– Leave it to us! – All right!
FIRE And how's Yurito?
We were able to save his life, but…
If I only realized sooner…
It seems the explosion occurred the instant Yurito's genjutsu was broken.
What kind of jutsu was it?
Detonating Clay.
A forbidden jutsu of the Hidden Stone.
So they controlled Yurito with genjutsu and obtained intel on Mitsuki…
No doubt, they've been digging for highly classified intel for a long time.
Yeah… And they managed to dig quite deep.
But one thing bothers me.
What is it?
If they took this much time in order to take Mitsuki…
What is their purpose?
Do you want me to look into this?
No…
We know now that the enemy is Hidden Stone shinobi.
We'll go with a frontal attack.
Once we cross through this wasteland, we'll be in the Land of Earth.
Hey, look!
What's that a drawing of?
It's my house!
Hmm…
Hey, once you enter the Land of Earth,
it'll mean that you betrayed the Hidden Leaf, Mitsuki!
I wonder what betrayal feels like?
Humans have all sorts of feelings that I wouldn't understand, right?
It's so mysterious, isn't it?
Isn't it?
So trivial…
Huh? Don't you think so, Kokuyou?
It's time you shut up, Sekiei…
Our arrival is getting delayed.
Let's go.
EARTH
Did you mess up, Kirara?
Kokuyou and Sekiei are late.
Is it your fault?
Shut up!
They're not all fools over on that side.
Anyway, I got rid of the Leaf Trackers on the way,
so it evens out, right?
You don't need to make excuses to me.
It's up to Lord Ku to make that judgment.
How are you, Lord Ku?
Umm…
Don't be anxious.
We still have time.
Yes, once Orochimaru's experiment arrives,
everything will work out just fine.
The day my long-cherished wish comes true is near.
What? There's someone there!
Huh?
It's one of our jonin.
But something's weird.
Huh?!
W-What happened?
Hey, what do we do?
It's better for you to die here now,
instead of having you struggle disgracefully at living.
You're merciless, aren't you, Kokuyou?
Well, he probably wouldn't have made it back to the Land of Earth anyway.
What was that?
They're called Akuta.
Akuta?
They're made from a Forbidden Jutsu of the Land of Earth.
That one just now had reached the end of his life.
The end of his life?
I told you before, right?
That we were created by Lord Ku.
We can't live long like humans.
But there's one thing that will let us live just like humans…
It's you!
Lord Ku thinks you're—
That's enough, Sekiei.
What?
Don't tell him anything more.
What's the big deal? There's nothing wrong in telling him.
No, don't.
We can't trust him.
I'll tell you again sometime.
Yes. I'd like to know… very much.
I've taken quite a liking to you!
This is what humans do when they see eye-to-eye, right?
Let's go.
What is this?
It's still fresh.
Was there a small kid here?
This was definitely drawn by a child.
Although, your drawings aren't much different…
C'mon, that's not true! My drawings…
Stop it.
We don't know who drew that,
but they passed through here just before us.
We may be able to get some kind of clue.
We have to stop them before they cross the border up ahead.
You're right. After all, we've come this far.
Yeah…
I'm gonna see Mitsuki without fail!
It's you, Mirai.
I heard about Mitsuki.
Yeah.
The one who attacked the gatekeeper was a Hidden Stone shinobi.
No, not that.
About Mitsuki being Orochimaru's son.
I was shocked too.
After all, Orochimaru is our enemy, right?
He killed our grandpa…
I know it happened before I was born
and I only heard it from my mom.
But Orochimaru tried to destroy Hidden Leaf Village.
Yeah, but our grandfather gave his life to protect it.
Reaper Death Seal!
You've become addicted to jutsu, and are drowning in it.
I'll hand down a punishment that befits your crime!
I will take all your jutsu away with me!
Stop!
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was respected by everyone in the village.
He was an amazing shinobi.
Do you hate Mitsuki?
He's the son of Orochimaru who did that to our grandpa…
No!
To me, Mitsuki is a precious member of Team 7,
just like Boruto and Sarada.
It's just…
Being here, doing nothing, puts unnecessary thoughts in my mind.
That's all.
FIRE
Kurotsuchi…
EARTH What's up? It's unusual of you to call me.
As the Hokage to the Tsuchikage, I'd like to ask you something.
What is it? You sound so formal.
You see, the day after the Five Kage Summit,
our gatekeeper was attacked.
C'mon!
First, it's the incident during the Chunin Exams, and now this.
What's going on with the Leaf?
Don't go there, will you?
Well, go on.
From quite a while ago,
someone used genjutsu and controlled one of our shinobi.
Not only that.
Using intel they obtained,
they took one of our genin and escaped.
Oh?
Not too long ago, something like that was commonplace.
But it's rare these days.
So, which village did this?
It can't be—!
They're shinobi from the Hidden Stone.
To make such an accusation,
I hope you have pretty solid evidence?
Yeah, the testimony of the gatekeeper who was attacked.
I find it awfully hard to believe.
Our trackers will soon reach the border with the Land of Earth.
And I have a favor to ask.
I want you to authorize
our shinobi's entry into your territory to investigate.
No, I can't agree to that.
Hey!
I can't arbitrarily give you permission.
You're a Hokage, so you understand my position, don't you?
Yeah…
If it's as you say, once the shinobi who escaped enters our land,
we'll capture him.
Naturally, that includes your genin.
And we'll notify you immediately.
Okay. I have one more favor to ask.
What is it?
You see, Boruto and Sarada are tracking the genin…
And they should be heading your way.
Such a hopeless son!
Fine. If we find them, we'll take them into custody
and send them back to the Leaf as soon as possible.
Sorry to trouble you.
First, we'll do our own thorough investigation to find out
if these shinobi are really from the Hidden Stone.
Depending on the results,
we'll then consider authorization for your shinobi's entry to investigate.
I'm counting on you, Kurotsuchi.
I'll do whatever I can.
You're a lifesaver…
Lady Tsuchikage?
Did something happen?
Nope, nothing happened.
Well, it seems all we can do is leave it in her hands for now.
What's up?
I can't make contact.
Again?
What's going on?
Hey!
Damn it! Be on guard!
Sir!
What are these things?!
I don't know.
S-Stop!
Wait!
What is that?
This is—!
Hey, you're Mitsuki's—!
What's going on?
I'm not gonna let you have it!
It's the same thing that attacked Mitsuki's snake near the Aun Gate.
I don't completely understand, but how can a thing like this move?
But if the same thing was in the Hidden Leaf Village…
It looks like it's connected to Mitsuki and the Hidden Stone shinobi.
It means they passed through this way.
And if this thing was smashed up like that…
What is it?
Maybe it fought with Mitsuki!
Let's hurry!
Is something wrong?
Pursuers.
Huh?
Take him and go on ahead.
I'll do something with the Akuta.
But…
You can't trust him.
It's fine, just go.
Let him go!
Seems like I'm not trusted, after all.
Kokuyou's just the suspicious type.
But I'm…
What?
Oh, nothing. let's hurry.
Mitsuki?
– Wait! – Hey, Boruto!
This is…
What's going on?
Children?
Are you trackers as well?
Who are they anyway?
Did he take down all these shinobi?
Be careful, you two.
He's a fierce enemy.
So, what? Mitsuki's just up ahead!
I can't get held up here!
Next time on Boruto Naruto Next Generations:
"Reunion with Mitsuki"
I'll tear through anyone who gets in my way,
and get to where Mitsuki's at!
REUNION WITH MITSUKI