Land of Wind, on the train.
"You are—?!"
Seeing someone appear via space-time ninjutsu, Gaara was startled. Before he could react, a mass of yellow sand instantly shielded him.
"My absolute defense—"
But he realized the attack passed easily through his sand, piercing into his body.
He saw it clearly: a red chakra fishhook.
"Heh… useless?"
Otsutsuki Urashiki sneered, flicking his rod as Gaara's chakra was instantly hooked out.
"Looks like you got careless."
Urashiki's mockery left Gaara in shock.
"Otsutsuki!"
That familiar skin and white eyes, coupled with his arrogant demeanor, stunned Gaara.
Truly worthy of being the clan's disgrace—even against a Kazekage, he resorted to trickery.
Drained of chakra and growing weak, Gaara suddenly heard terrifying explosions outside.
"No! Kazekage-sama, Konoha's ninja are attacking us!"
"It's Boruto Uzumaki, the Konoha renegade!"
"Boruto, what are you doing?!"
As the train exploded, screams rang out, making Urashiki smile in amusement.
"Heh, looks like you've got more enemies, but I've achieved my goal."
With a meaningful smile, Urashiki vanished as the spatial rift closed.
The carriage was torn apart by the explosion.
Under the night sky, chaos reigned, and Gaara stared in shock at the attackers.
They were all Konoha ninja but with scratched-out headbands—especially the leader.
"Bo—Boruto! How did you become like this?!"
Boruto's face was smeared with blood and twisted in a grin. Half his skin was pale—obviously from fusing with Senju cells.
His left eye was blood-red—a Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Heh… Uncle Gaara, sorry, but only you can make the Hokage nervous."
"For my plan." Boruto's savage smile didn't waver, even noting Gaara's odd condition.
Under the night, with the train in ruins, only injured survivors and the vanished Kazekage remained.
A letter was left behind.
After Boruto and his team vanished, a spatial rift opened.
"This brat's plan!"
Urashiki stepped out, narrowing his eyes at the disappearance.
"Draw Konoha's power away, then trigger the Konoha Collapse Plan? Perfect for me to fish in troubled waters."
"After all, I'm still not strong enough to face Konoha head-on."
Truly the clan's disgrace—others fought Naruto head-on, but only he knew his limits.
"Heh, since it's so interesting, let me give you a hand."
In the yellow sand, the wounded Sand ninja stared at him in fear.
"What are you doing?!"
"No, stop!"
As screams rang out, Urashiki ruthlessly slaughtered all the Sand ninjas—to fan the flames of war.
News spread quickly. When another train learned what happened, Temari became furious.
She immediately returned to the Sand Village and summoned all elite ninjas.
…
Kazekage's office.
"Everyone, Gaara has been captured. Based on the scene, it was Konoha's renegade Boruto Uzumaki, and he left this letter."
Temari slammed the letter on the table, denouncing Konoha's atrocity.
But after so many years, most elite Sand ninjas, influenced by Gaara, felt a special connection to Konoha.
"Lady Temari, but it's Konoha…"
A Sand jonin sighed helplessly, silencing many.
If they were equals, they would denounce Konoha and demand an explanation.
But right now, Konoha had the strongest power. Who dared speak up?
Seeing her village's elite so timid, Temari was furious.
"You—!"
Her anger and frustration hardened her resolve.
The Sand Village didn't need so many Konoha-sympathizing ninjas—now was the time to clean house.
"Fine, if we can't offend Konoha, then take this letter from the Hokage's son and hand-deliver it to the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki.
Tell him that because of Konoha, our village suffered heavy losses, even losing our Kazekage."
Temari's decisiveness turned the strategy off instantly.
Everyone sighed with relief.
"At least Konoha owes us an explanation."
"Right, it's all Konoha's fault—they dragged us into this."
"We should stay out of Boruto's business. Let Konoha handle it."
The Sand, once the first to start a war with Konoha, had their backbone broken.
Especially since Gaara became Kazekage and many pro-Konoha ninjas took office.
Temari's anger burned. She swore to lead the Sand to get justice from Konoha.
She wouldn't wait long.
…
Konoha.
Hokage's office.
"Lord Kakashi, Lord Hokage, this is an urgent request from the Sand. The Fifth Kazekage Gaara was attacked—the culprit was Boruto Uzumaki.
Gaara's fate is unknown, but this letter was left at the scene."
The Anbu rushed in with the intel. Kakashi's expression turned grave.
Naruto's shadow clone, hearing that Boruto had attacked his friend Gaara, became furious.
"Boruto! How dare you hurt Gaara—I'll never forgive you!"
Naruto smashed the desk in rage, while Kakashi quietly read the letter.
"Naruto, this is a trap to lure you out."
The letter demanded Naruto personally come to the desert of the Land of Wind to rescue Gaara—Boruto would be waiting.
Kakashi said gravely:
"Naruto, you mustn't act rashly. According to intel from the dead Sand ninja, Boruto disappeared for a time, formed a vengeful Konoha renegade army, fused with Wood Release cells, and now has a Mangekyo in his left eye. He's no longer a child—he's a powerful ninja."
Even Kakashi found Boruto's current strength troublesome.
"Damn it, Kakashi-sensei, I have to save Gaara."
"Naruto, calm down. No one can guarantee this is Boruto. It could be a trap—for you."
In the recent chaos, many blamed Naruto, once the savior of the ninja world, now vilified as a historic criminal.
But to Naruto, Gaara was—besides Sasuke—his most important comrade.
"Boruto, you bastard! I'll never forgive you!"
Naruto roared. He would never allow anyone to break the bond between Konoha and the Sand Village.
Nor would he allow anyone to hurt those he cared for.
"Naruto, don't rush. We'll handle Gaara, but let others go first."
Kakashi frowned. Boruto's status, Gaara's life—he could only sigh.
"Naruto, I'll lead the team myself. With Lee and a squad of Konoha elites, we'll investigate.
Right now, only you and I can face someone with Wood Release and Mangekyo."
Wood Release + Mangekyo—few in the world could handle that.
Kakashi had no choice; he couldn't let Naruto charge out recklessly.
"Naruto, let the elders handle village affairs. You focus on training and wait for my news."
Naruto, frustrated but knowing Konoha needed him, reluctantly nodded.
Maybe it was all the recent blood loss, but Naruto had been calmer lately.
Kakashi even wondered if Naruto's bond with Kawaki was helping suppress his negativity.
But that didn't matter. As the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi had to act.
He quickly organized a rescue team, just like when Akatsuki had captured Gaara.
The Kazekage was taken; Konoha sent an elite team.
…
Meanwhile, in Konoha's Root base—
"Heh… With Kakashi keeping the village stable, now's our chance."
In the darkness, Koharu showed a greedy smile.
"With Boruto capturing the Kazekage and Kakashi leaving, we can target Naruto again."
Homura remained calm. "Don't rush. We can draw Naruto's blood for research, but don't arouse the Nine-Tail's suspicion."
"You're too cautious. With what Boruto's done, Naruto's reputation is already ruined."
The two elders schemed to exploit Naruto's blood to restore their youth while Kakashi was away.
…
At the same time, Kara's members were secretly heading for Konoha.
Their goal: Kawaki.
Kara wanted him back.
…
At the same time, Boruto led a renegade elite force—also heading for Konoha, seeking revenge.
Truly, Konoha was disaster-prone.
…
In the yellow sands of the Land of Wind—
Inside a cave, Gaara hung exhausted.
His chakra had been drained, then he was captured by Boruto. Of all Kazekage, only he was so unlucky.
A village Kage, captured again and again.
"Boruto, this will end badly. You can't betray Naruto's expectations. Let me go, and I'll convince him…"
Gaara rasped, but Boruto only looked at him coldly.
"Uncle Gaara, I don't want to kill you but don't push me. It's too late to talk now."
Boruto smiled mockingly.
"By now, we should be in the Land of Fire. Nothing you say matters."
"What?!"
Gaara suddenly realized. "You're a Wood Release clone!"
A Wood Release clone—even Mangekyo and Rinnegan couldn't see through it.
"Heh… time's almost up."
Checking the time, Boruto smiled, looking up at the suspended Gaara, his smile becoming stiff.
Under Gaara's anxious gaze, Boruto's skin began to turn to wood, until he fully became a wooden statue.
"Damn it!"
Gaara shouted in frustration.
"Naruto! Look what you've done—how could you drive Boruto to this? You'll regret it!"
Even now, Gaara worried for Naruto.
As the wooden Boruto stood in the empty cave, a spatial rift slowly opened.
"Heh, what an interesting ninja world."
Otsutsuki Urashiki appeared, fishing rod in hand, amused by the drama.
He had watched the whole show and was more interested than ever.
Of all the Otsutsuki who came to the ninja world, only he was best at playing tricks and schemes.
"It's you!"
Seeing Urashiki, Gaara's pupils shrank, but Urashiki smiled teasingly.
"Kazekage, is it? Too bad—since this kid can't do it, I'll send you on your way."
Urashiki's goal was to collect tailed beasts. With Konoha so powerful, he was happy to sow discord.
With this opportunity, he wouldn't miss fanning the flames.
Squelch!
Blood spurted.
Gaara's eyes widened, blood gushing from his throat, as Urashiki smiled.
"Almost forgot—ninjas are great at searching memories. Looks like I'll have to erase this part."