Naruto: Boruto Returns to Shippuden

Chapter 211 Secret Message

After the storm subsided, Boruto stood amidst the ruins of the Root base, his eyes scanning the ground torn apart by Danzo's "Inner Four Symbols Seal".

A huge circular gap is clearly visible, with a diameter extending to tens of meters, and the edges of the gap are unusually smooth.

Danzo's body lay quietly in the center of the circular gap he had created with his magic. His body was motionless, showing no signs of life, and had become a cold corpse, his face frozen with the struggle of his last moments.

All the power struggles and ambitions of the past have vanished with the wind, leaving only an empty shell, silently telling the story of the glory of life and the loneliness of the end.

Immediately afterwards, Boruto and Sasuke landed next to Danzo's body.

Sasuke said to Boruto, "Boruto, I thought you would stop me from eliminating Danzo, after all..."

Boruto gently shook his head: "His fate was already sealed long ago. And I am not as merciful as you think. Danzo already had the idea of ​​eliminating me and has already put it into action."

During his time following Jiraiya deep into the ninja world to gather intelligence, Boruto has become accustomed to all kinds of hatred in the ninja world.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Sasuke's face, but he quickly made up his mind, looked directly at Boruto, and continued, "Boruto, are you...?"

Just as Sasuke was still undecided and had not yet fully expressed himself, a figure suddenly swept past the edge of their line of sight and quickly moved to the entrance.

Immediately afterwards, the figure stepped into their field of vision without hesitation and came to Boruto and Sasuke.

The Konoha ninja was dressed in a simple beige robe that covered his entire body, and he wore a cat-face mask that only revealed his eyes.

Sasuke saw the newcomer's furrowed brows and his hand unconsciously reaching for the Kusanagi sword at his waist. He instinctively regarded the masked man in front of him as a Root ninja who might have come to support Danzo.

Boruto raised his hand, signaling Sasuke not to rush into action. He had already recognized the identity of this Anbu member. She was a member of the guard directly under the Fifth Hokage and an elite member of the Anbu, with the code name "Antelope".

Antelope's gaze swept around, lingering briefly on Danzo's corpse before she turned to Boruto and said, "Boruto, the Fifth Hokage has ordered you to come to the Hokage's office. He has something important to discuss with you."

After hearing the female ANBU ninja's words, Sasuke shifted his gaze from the antelope to Boruto.

Boruto calmly replied to the message relayed by the antelope, "Okay, please tell the Hokage that I'll be there in a bit."

After receiving Boruto's reply, the antelope nodded slightly, then her figure disappeared into the shadows and she left the scene.

After the ANBU member disappeared into the shadows, Sasuke extended an invitation to Boruto: "Boruto, let's leave Konoha together."

Boruto naturally understood Sasuke's meaning. He knew that Sasuke was worried that he would face severe punishment from the Fifth Hokage of Konoha for helping him infiltrate Konoha and kill Danzo.

Boruto explained to him in a calm tone, "It's alright, Granny Tsunade isn't the unreasonable person you think she is."

Boruto continued, "If I really left with you at this time, I might end up becoming a Konoha rogue ninja, just like you think."

Sasuke was still somewhat hesitant: "But..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his concerns were obvious. Although this action was mainly his own, Danzo was still a high-ranking figure in Konoha and had a huge influence in the village.

However, seeing Boruto's confident gaze, Sasuke said nothing more. Nevertheless, he made a decision to accompany Boruto to the Hokage's office so that he could provide support if necessary.

If Boruto is really punished because of him, he will do anything to get Boruto away from Konoha.

Boruto did not refuse Sasuke's request to travel together, so the two left the Root base together, crossed the underground passage, and returned to Konoha Village, until they arrived at the Hokage's office.

Boruto gently knocked on the door of the Hokage's office. After receiving a response from inside, he pushed the door open and entered, with Sasuke following closely behind.

When they entered the Hokage's office, Boruto first noticed Tsunade's solemn face. Besides Tsunade, Boruto also noticed another person in the room.

Upon hearing Boruto's footsteps, the man turned around and said, "Boruto, you're here." Then, his gaze slowly shifted to Sasuke standing behind Boruto, his eyes revealing complex emotions.

Boruto was slightly surprised to see Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Hokage's office. He asked, "Third Hokage, what are you doing here?"

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could reply, Tsunade, who was standing with her arms crossed, said, "Boruto, I heard from the Anbu that Danzo is dead, is that true?"

Boruto did not evade Tsunade's question, and replied directly and concisely, "That's right."

When Hiruzen Sarutobi confirmed Danzo's death again through Boruto, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly and let out a heavy sigh: Danzo, I never thought you would walk before me.

Sasuke stepped forward, blocking Boruto's path, and angrily interjected, "I killed Danzo, it has nothing to do with Boruto. And by allowing someone like Danzo to run rampant in Konoha, haven't you all failed in your duties?!"

Sasuke stared intently at Hiruzen Sarutobi and demanded, "Don't tell me you know nothing about all the evil deeds that bastard Danzo committed!"

Tsunade stood up from her seat, her eyes flashing with anger: "You must be Uchiha Sasuke, right? I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you're already turning the tables on me. This is Konoha, watch your attitude."

Tsunade's eyes were fixed on Sasuke. She was particularly dissatisfied with Sasuke's attitude at the moment. She recalled the scene when she first took over the position of Hokage. At that time, Sasuke's defection from the village had kept her extremely busy. She couldn't understand what Naruto was thinking and why he was so obsessed with this arrogant brat.

Sasuke snorted coldly. If it weren't for Boruto's sake, he wouldn't have wasted his breath arguing with them.

At this moment, Boruto asked, "You called me here this time, it shouldn't be about Danzo, right? So what is it about?"

Tsunade did not object to Boruto's question. She did not intend to make things difficult for Boruto because of Danzo, nor did she want to hold him accountable for his role in the incident.

Based on Danzo's previous actions, especially his leaking of information about the Konoha Hokage's direct ANBU, he could have been convicted of betraying the village, but his position prevented him from doing so.

Tsunade said slowly, "Indeed, the reason I called you here this time is that Danzo's death is secondary. Let the old man explain the real purpose."

Tsunade was also somewhat confused. The old man suddenly came to the Hokage's office and said that he had received important information, and specifically requested that Boruto be present as well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze lingered on Sasuke for a moment before he continued, "Itachi Uchiha was actually a spy planted by Konoha within Akatsuki."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed the secret that Itachi Uchiha was a spy planted by Konoha in the Akatsuki organization, he scanned the crowd present.

He noticed that apart from Tsunade, the other people present did not show much surprise, which meant that they had already known about this news beforehand.

Hiruzen Sarutobi then continued his statement. He said in a serious tone, "Just now, I received a secret message from Itachi Uchiha. After deciphering it, I learned about the strength of most of the Akatsuki members."

"However, its leader is too mysterious. Uchiha Itachi has only found out that the leader he has seen so far is just a corpse puppet, and its controller is still unknown."

Boruto nodded after hearing the news.

Hiruzen Sarutobi approached Boruto and said, "There's a final message in the secret letter Itachi Uchiha sent that I want to give to you. It says, 'Please tell Boruto that my duel with him is scheduled for three months from now.'"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke's pupils involuntarily contracted, and a complex emotion welled up within him. He realized that the "he" mentioned in Itachi's letter actually referred to himself, not Boruto.

The day of my duel with my brother is in three months...