Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"That was a great sleep!" Naruto stretched, yawning as he sat up in bed.

Looking at the time, it's already four in the afternoon.

"Why didn't Boruto wake me up today?"

Naruto wondered, moving his arms to loosen up. Just as he was about to get out of bed, he noticed someone lying on the futom beside him.

Boruto was still there, sound asleep.

'He'd been out for fifteen or sixteen hours now… he was clearly exhausted.'

"Wake up, Boruto." Naruto nudged him with his foot.

"I'm so tired."

Boruto groaned, slowly opening his eyes. He tried to sit up but winced in pain, "Ow, ow, ow!"

Due to the excessive training yesterday, his body was simply unable to adapt and muscle strains were inevitable.

"Alright, enough groaning. Give it a few days, and your body will adjust. Let's go get some food."

After a quick cleanup, Naruto took Boruto out of the house.

After a meal that was either breakfast, lunch or dinner, they were on their way to the training field when Naruto spotted adult Sasuke sitting on a tree.

Naruto sighed, feeling exasperated, "Why are you always hiding from me? I'm the one supposed to be watching you, not the other way around. Stay in my sight, alright."

"Apologies." Sasuke said, hopping down from the tree.

"You know, it's odd. Since I met you both, I haven't seen Pervy Sage at all. I wonder where he ran off to."

As they walked along, Naruto said helplessly.

Even though it had only been a day, he was already starting to miss his usual 'research'.

Naruto's eyes lit up with an idea, and he suggested, "How about this, Boruto? Let Jiraiya guide you in your training today."

For Boruto, the training at the third training ground was still a bit too hard, and honestly, it wasn't yielding the best results yet.

With the Scientific Ninja Tools at hand, Boruto really needed to focus on honing his fundamentals.

Jiraiya, after all, had trained the likes of Minato, so he undoubtedly had a unique approach to teaching.

Of course, the real motive was that Naruto could sneak off to see what new material Jiraiya had in stock.

It was a win-win, and Naruto was quite pleased with his plan.

However, just as the three were about to cross through a grove of trees, Sasuke's expression suddenly changed.

Boruto hesitated, sensing something off, but before he could say anything, a cold and sinister voice echoed, "I didn't expect the plan to be disrupted, but no matter. I'll take out all the obstacles in one stroke."

The three of them glanced around but didn't see anyone. However, when they looked up, they saw a figure standing in midair.

Seeing this person, Boruto and Sasuke's expressions instantly became serious and they both prepared for a fight.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and studied the man.

The stranger had pale skin, blue-white hair tied in a high ponytail, no eyebrows, and two round marks on his forehead, topped with horn-like protrusions that resembled a headband. He wore white clothing, carried a red-glowing basket on his back, and held a red-glowing fishing rod.

Although Naruto has never seen this person, he has a pair of Byakugan, so he is either from the Hyuga Clan or the Otsutsuki Clan.

Since Sasuke and Boruto came from the future, so the latter is most likely.

Before Naruto could fully process it, the man in midair swung his fishing rod, and the hook shot straight toward him.

Seeing this, Boruto hurriedly pushed Naruto out of the way.

Boom!

The fishhook missed its target and hit the ground, triggering an explosive blast.

'With just a light flick, the ground had been gouged out, leaving a massive crater. The power of this attack was comparable to several explosive tags going off at once.'

Naruto thought to himself, 'Just a basic attack is this strong… this guy is definitely no pushover.'

Without any more hesitation, Sasuke abandoned his concealment, drawing his Kusanagi Sword and lunging at the white-haired man in midair. But the man easily dodged.

Seeing the man raise his fishing rod once again, Boruto yelled out, "This is bad! Run!"

"Too slow!"

The white-haired man's lips curled into a smirk, and in the next instant, the fishhook embedded itself firmly in Naruto's stomach.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called out in panic.

"How…how can this be…" Boruto stared at the red fishing line protruding from Naruto's belly, his voice trembling.

"I've got you!"

The white-haired man smiled triumphantly, then pulled the hook back with all his strength. But when he looked at the fishhook, his smug expression turned into one of shock, "What's going on? No Chakra is being extracted?"

He had pulled back nothing, not even a hint of Chakra.

"Why didn't his attack work?" Boruto was just as stunned.

He had seen the power of the other party's fishhook. As long as it connected, it should have extracted Chakra without fail.

"You bastard, do you want me to actually get hurt?"

Naruto chided and hit Boruto on the head. He then turned his gaze to the white-haired man in midair and said coldly, "Although I don't know who you are, I will not let you go for attacking me for no reason."

With that, Naruto launched himself toward the white-haired man.

But the man's fishing rod moved as if alive, instantly wrapping Naruto in its line. The thread wasn't just an ordinary rope, and it was nearly impossible to break free from.

"Naruto!" Sasuke used Body Flicker Technique, appearing behind the white-haired man in an instant. But as his sword swung down, the man transformed into several red origami cranes, evading Sasuke's attack as his real form shifted to a higher position in the sky.

'Hmm?'

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. In that split second, he had noticed the man's eyes change to blue, with a ringed pattern.

'There was no doubt about it, it was the Rinnegan!'

Now, Naruto was certain that this man is from the Otsutsuki Clan.

'To think that the Otsutsuki would go to the extent of traveling back in time just to take me out? This undoubtedly meant that I was extremely powerful in the future, and the Otsutsuki had no choice but to come looking for me when I was still young.'

'But Otsutsuki's wishful thinking was wrong after all. Even the young me was not someone to be trifled with.'

That earlier charge had been an act. Naruto had calculated that the fishhook wouldn't actually harm him, which was why he allowed himself to get closer.

Even though he was currently bound by the line, Naruto knew that once he used the Eight Gates, breaking free would be no issue.

However, he still did not rush to take action. When he saw the white-haired man's Rinnegan, he couldn't help but become a little more vigilant.

For now, though, he held back, watching the man closely. Seeing the Rinnegan, especially a blue Rinnegan, he grew more cautious. After all, Rinnegan was one of the most powerful cheats in the Shinobi World, and this blue variant might hold some unknown, dangerous abilities.

The fact that the white-haired man hadn't used a killing blow immediately but had instead bound him suggested there was another reason he'd been captured.

As long as his life wasn't in immediate danger, Naruto decided to observe a bit longer, ready to counterattack when he was more certain.

However, Naruto's plan was spontaneous, without any prior communication.

So seeing his father captured, Boruto was panicked. He launched himself into the air, gathering a massive amount of Chakra in his right hand, forming it into a powerful, spiraling ball of explosive energy.

"Urashiki, take this!"