DISCLAIMER: I am only typing this once for this story: I do not own Naruto or its next generation. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha. Support the official release.

WHAT-THE-HECK-YOU'RE-ABOUT-TO-GET-YOURSELVES-INTO: Okay. This fic. Think Naruto: Next Generation meets DC's Injustice and the Flashpoint. And a pinch of FF XV. Perhaps after watching Avatar for the first time, it subconsciously bled in as well...

This fic is unplanned, spontaneous, and at times, dark. This is a fic where I do what I want and when it comes to me, which means chapters can be days to months apart. And because this is so spontaneous I won't even list it in my Progress Status on my profile. You'll have to just hold out that one day, whether far or near I'll be jolted with inspiration and continue.

Regardless, welcome to a new version of Konoha, the likes of which have never been seen from me before. Also, guns are involved. Why? Because they were seen in Blood Prison, in the background and what better time for them to become more dominant (thus dangerous to shinobi kind) than in a modernizing world? Think of Japan in the eighteen-hundreds or so. The usage of samurai and the like died down because Japan had begun trading with the outside world and even westernizing and acquiring firepower, so I'm taking some inspiration from that.

CONCEPTION/THE TITLE: So, the last ninja huh? Sounds kinda like a certain movie...For various reasons, I did not like The Last Samurai, well...it's complicated but regardless, that movie has nothing to do with this fic, although after I had started this, the similar scenario struck me and I was like, crap, now people might compare the two but the idea of this fic came almost solely from Kawaki's words: "the age of ninja is over" and the reflection that firearms being in the background of Blood Prison is really, really, really problematic. And so a muse struck me...

Without stalling any further:

THE LAST NINJA

The Jolt and the Chancellor

Two past friends, standing apart, facing each other on the rock, not unlike the Hokage and his best friend so many decades ago at the Valley of the End. But so much was on the line this time as they stood on the crumbled faces of the Hokage.

Boruto could not fail. No, there was no choice but to keep fighting, even as drained as he was.

"To think you'd be this strong...Kawaki!" he declared, steadying himself once more.

Enough was enough.

He prayed they could stop right now, that his silent prayers would get through to him but...Neither of them would let go of their current convictions.

His old friend didn't even bat an eyelash. "I'll be sending you to meet the Seventh, Boruto."

Boruto looked down, his heart hurting, and he asked quietly, "Did things...really have to turn out this way?"

Their eyes met.

"Yes."

Something in Boruto grimaced.

The marks on Kawaki began to change hue, his power shifting into place as Boruto readied his. Grimness filled him all the same. At this rate, he would have to use the last ounce of his strength and hope Kawaki's did not outlast his. That was never a gamble he wanted to take. But...He could do it, he had confidence he could.

"The age of ninja is over."

No. It can't afford to be, idiot.

And they ran.

Boruto jolted up, his body leaping upward in preparation for the attack, his heart pounding, adrenaline rushing through him.

And all was quiet.

Kawaki was nowhere in sight. Boruto waited tensely in this position longer, waiting for Kawaki's next strike, forcing his breathing to quiet to normal. A moment longer still, chakra buzzing at the bottom of his soles...And nothing.

Not lowering his defensive position, Boruto risked looking around, his white eye piercingly sharp.

"Come out and face me, Kawa...ki..."

His voice faded as did the sage-like jutsu he had been about to use against Kawaki.

He was suddenly standing in a grassy terrain. He should be standing amidst the ruins of Konoha, the mountain, with rubble everywhere.

An eyebrow shot up. Just a second ago they had been charging at each other. Now, not only was Kawaki and all signs of his presence obliterated but it was like Boruto was in a completely new setting.

No...

He could tell it wasn't a genjutsu, Kawaki didn't know any and one simply didn't date an Uchiha and not know the ropes.

Did he somehow teleport me? Is that why...?

Looking around he could see he was standing next to the tall mountain that watched over Konoha steadfastly, but as if it had been wiped clean like a slate, the surface bore none of the Hokage faces. Rather it stared back at him with a nearly perfectly shaped flat face.

The surface of the rock had been repaired, but not the faces. Boruto stepped back, baffled. He could tell this was the same mountain, but yet, how had it changed like this?

And above it, the newer city and its towers. Where they the same? Suddenly and rather magically repaired? He couldn't tell from his vantage point, not without running up the mountain, and his chakra was too low for that.

His head snapped back towards where the village should be in crumbles, and smoke should be rising, and instead...

"Holy—"

Towers, a city, in one piece at that. He could scarcely process what he was seeing and rubbed his eyes.

"There's just no way!"

Was this some game!? Kawaki was just wasting both of their time!

Boruto vexedly growled under his breath. "Don't know what you've just done, but when I find you Kawaki, I'ma beat the friggin daylights out of you."

Forget trying to talk, no, Kawaki done annoyed him now. Squaring his shoulders, he did the only thing he could think to do; Boruto started for Konoha.

"Kawaki, I swear..."

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

Now Boruto was doubting himself completely. Nothing about this felt right at all. This...city, it may be located where the ruins of Konoha should be, but it was not Konoha, not even a true rebuilt one, because if it was, there would be shinobi walking about, the leaf emblem on foreheads or backs, worn with pride, or even engraved on various signs and buildings throughout the village.

What Boruto traversed through now was devoid of any sign of shinobi completely and he could not help mutter under his breath "Just what game are you playing with me, Kawaki?"

People kept staring at him as he passed through the busy streets tentatively. Boruto had lived a good chunk of his life receiving scolding looks from village elders, scorns for all the pranks he used to pull, or insults he used to disrespectively spout about his work-married dad. But this was something different. Their eyes, they kept drifting to the band around his forehead as if it was some disease-riddled monstrosity.

Then he remembered that the metal plate was scratched across the front. They must have been assuming that he was some rogue because of it. Yes, that had to be it. Quickly he drifted to the side so he could remove the band in private. Holding the band now in his hands, he stared at it, sadness filling him. He couldn't help reflect on the events from earlier that had begun cascading down one after another after Kawaki's attack. The chaos. The fights. The noise and terror. Its resolution was depending solely on him now.

Uncle Sasuke...Dad...I'll get to the bottom of this. I'll find and take care of Kawaki. Then, I swear I'll find you. But first...

Voices, speaking, about him. Hushed. He could catch them at the edge of his peripheral vision, a thin man and a bigger one, the latter of the two wearing some uniform. But neither had chakra, so they were mere civilians to him, but something about their tone made him feel apprehensive. And the bigger one. He wasn't a ninja but he was definitely a someone. Boruto didn't want to find out what or who.

Not liking their aura one bit, Boruto slid into an alleyway, hoping to lose their attention. He didn't. He could hear footsteps following. His pace began to quicken.

I really, really don't have time for this!

Boruto had no clue what was going on, what had happened to the village, the shinobi, but he did know that he didn't have time to dilly dally in this strange place. Quickly he ducked into a store and began grabbing clothes and even a cap. As he was now, he was attracting attention. And why wouldn't he? He had just come from a draining fight. His clothes were ragged, dirty, and he smelled of sweat. He was just a sight.

He dashed into a dressing room to switch the clothes out but had to take a moment to just breath and look at himself in the mirror.

There was blood still on his chin, his forehead. He had multiple bruises. If any good had come from their first couple of fights, it was that he had least gotten some close hits on Kawaki as well. Just not as much as he would have liked.

Sighing, he wiped the blood from his face with his ruined white shirt.

Ugh. No wonder everyone had kept staring at him.

But no more, he thought, getting dressed in the boring casual clothes he had grabbed. Just cheap things, a plain shirt, and khaki shorts, but they would help him blend in until he found Kawaki and sorted this out. Then...He slipped the final touch on, a simple baseball cap.

"Normal civilian-no-jutsu," he said into the mirror, grinning a bit.

Ah, but there was a problem. The sword. Unlike his ratty clothes, he refused to leave it behind. It was Sasuke's. Boruto took only a moment to work it out the best he could. He tucked it under his shirt vertically, so it sat between his shoulder blades, the hilt sticking out but sitting behind his head. It was still visible but it wasn't as obvious as having it sit at his hip, fully exposed. Whatever projection Kawaki had created wouldn't see him as a threat as easily now. Hopefully.

He threw a tan jacket on, better hiding the prominence of the sword under the t-shirt, then he was done. Finally satisfied with his look, he went to the counter for checkout, making sure to keep his face down so the bill of the cap better kept his too-recognizable face in shadow.

"I got my clothes really tore up playing some baseball," he said. "So I kinda had to change, but here's all the tags for the clothes I'm wearing." He set them on the counter and slid his bank card to the cashier as well. It was a card his father had given him recently for emergencies. A seemingly endless credit card. Hokage power and all that.

Boruto flashed the cashier an innocent smile.

The cashier was a tiny thing that barely even looked at him. Just took and scanned all of the tags before settling her focus on the card. Now her countenance shifted. First surprise, then concern.

"Um, sir, this card, we don't use these anymore."

An eyebrow rose, he looked at her doubtedly. "Why?"

Now it was her turn as her own eyebrows arched up. "Because it's an Elemental one. Everyone quit supporting these cards ages. Don't you know that?"

Nope. News to him.

And she was talking to him like he was dumb. He didn't appreciate that.

Boruto took a step back, rubbing his forehead. "Listen, I already threw my old clothes away and I really need these. You sure you can't take it?"

The lady nodded.

Great. Just great. He really didn't want to be a thief. The petty person who runs out of a store with unpaid merchandise on them, not only is it pathetic and demeaning, but it would attract attention as well. And as long as Kawaki was wasting their time with hide-and-go-seek or whatever his dumb plan was, Boruto didn't want more trouble.

But he had no cash on him.

He checked his pockets, acting like he was looking for something.

"Ah man," he groaned. "I had another card, the newer one, but I think I may have dropped it in the fitting room. Just give me a moment."

The lady was staring at his card on the counter fixedly as if she hadn't heard him. He glanced worriedly at her when she hadn't responded to his conjured excuse to leave her sight with merchandise still on him.

"Boruto...Uzumaki," she read. She looked at him now, hands reaching for a phone, her tone horrified and maybe even outraged. "You!"

Who was she about to call!? Whoever it was, he got the feeling it wasn't anyone good.

Uh-oh. Forget trying to sneak out. He bolted.

"SECURITY!"

He knocked into things, running for the door and once out there, he didn't stop running until he was as far from that store as possible and the sounds of her screeching had faded.

Breathing heavily, he collapsed against the side of a building and slid down until he was sitting on his rear, legs out in front of him.

She read the name and her first instinct was to call for help?!

Oh boy. Really, what had Kawaki done? The village was completely different looking, heck of more modern. As he had passed by he kept catching various tech in civilian hands. And the civilians, they did more than just outnumber shinobi like himself, they completely dominated! In fact, he felt like he was the only ninja around. Not once had he even sensed the chakra of another.

Fear filled him.

There was just so much he didn't understand. Why had Kawaki broken up their fight, and really how did he even do it? The questions continued to rage in his head like a storm, so much so that Boruto wanted to scream.

He cursed Kawaki's name a few times before he forced himself to get back up. Tiredly he headed for the only place he could think of, the Hokage's Tower. Kawaki had to be hiding there. There, they would sort this out and whatever was happening would fade back into normal, yes this is what Boruto tried to convince himself of.

Taking a deep breath he continued on his slow pace to the center of the village. City really. Why was everything so different? Since when did Konoha itself have such impressive and new buildings? Towers?

Ugh, and worse, yet, a vending machine, there was one in front of him with protein bars and energy drinks. He would do anything for either of them right now and as if to scorn him for not carrying cash, his stomach let out a growl.

He lingered near the area, noticing a kid in front of the machine, playing with a toy by himself. He also had a drink of his own off to the side.

Boruto watched him for a moment before he risked approaching the child.

"Hey kid, you wouldn't happen to have some spare change, would you? I would make it worth your while."

The kid stopped playing and looked at him curiously.

Boruto pulled his handheld game system from his pocket. It was a miracle it hadn't broken during the fight. Then again he had spent a lot of money on its protective case for situations when he had missions or something else came up and the device had the misfortune of being left in his pocket. Now it was paying off.

The kid's eyes got real big. "No way! That's a classic! How much!?"

Boruto smiled. "Just need ya to buy me a drink and bar from that vending machine."

"That it?!"

Boruto nodded. He didn't need his game set anymore. His desire to relax and play had just been shot to Kingdom Come.

"I'm very tired, and hungry. And I need the energy. Besides, you look like a good kid, wouldn't hurt me to be generous, and you'd be doing me some good in return."

The kid nodded. "It's a deal!"

With that he ran to the machine, throwing money in it. The can clattered as it came down, and the bar thunked. Taking them, Boruto stood to the side, devouring them ravenously.

The boy sat beside him, already giving his new prize a look.

"Wooooow," he drawled, smiling with a toothy grin.

"Mhm, take care of it," Boruto said between small mouthfuls.

The boy looked at him for awhile before he asked quietly, "Your eye...How'd that happen?"

Boruto stilled and traced over the scar that ran down his right eyelid with his finger. "I, uh, had a disagreement with a friend. It didn't end well..."

"Ah, so like me mom"

Something in him stung.

"She okay?"

"She is now."

"That's good."

The kid was still staring at him.

"What?"

"You have a sword."

"Yeah...?"

"Are you cosplaying as a ninja or something?"

Boruto smiled. "No, I am a ninja."

The kid's face went deathly pale. What was wrong? Seconds ago he was practically a chatterbox.

"Um," the kid started, getting to his feet. He looked sick. "I have to go home, um, my mom wouldn't want me...Thanks for the game though."

With that, he quickly scurried off.

Boruto finished off the rest of his small meal in solitude, something in him disturbed.

There was something wrong about this place, he just couldn't put his finger on it yet. Heck, he didn't even know what this place was.

Finished, he tossed the wrapper in the recycling and headed out, his body refueled just enough but his spirits lower than ever.

This place...

He soon caught a sign off to the side, declaring the name of this place. It did not read Konoha.

No, it read The Fire Capital.

Why the change? What exactly did it entail?

So, Kawaki, have you dreamed up your own world, perverted it in your own image?

His thoughts continued to race. Had Kawaki transported him? This sounded like something straight out of a comic book, like a parallel universe or something. But that was as far fetched from reality as it got.

No matter, he was here where the Hokage's Tower should be, had things been normal.

And he was met with a metallic and sleek building.

"Ugh," he groaned. Had he redone everything?

No matter. He reached for some wire, preparing it for his task. When he had changed he may have gotten rid of his holsters, but he wouldn't have dared to throw his tools away. So he had stuffed them in his pocket. Well, everything but the sword. The pockets wouldn't exactly accommodate that.

He sneaked into the back area, it was almost the same idea as before, the design of it. Most people didn't know it was built to house a secret exit so the Hokage could leave quickly in case of an emergency. Looks like whoever had updated the building kept this part the same.

From here he could sneak in and even go directly to the office without attracting the attention of everyone inside. There would no doubt be a few guards, but only a few, in comparison to something guard crazy like, say, the lobby and main entrance.

Had his body been fully recovered, and if he had a team with him, he would charge right through the front doors, but time had matured him. Taught him caution. And after everything that had happened...He couldn't afford to be caught. To lose. Kawaki was dangerous...Dangerous enough to—no, he wouldn't think about it. About his father, his home. His sensei. Not now.

He snuck through the secret entrance tunnel, careful to not make any noise. Careful to suppress any sign of his chakra. The tunnel wasn't long and mostly consisted of stairs at a certain point.

Wait. Scratch that. An elevator. It had been updated with an elevator.

Boruto shook his head, entering the claustrophobic box. He wasn't going to use it though, no. He balanced himself in the upper corner, holding himself to the wall and close to its ceiling so he could work on getting out of its escape hatch.

Stupid Kawaki, you can't rely solely on tech! What if it was shut down? How would you escape then during an emergency? Then again, you're the sort who would think to have a backup generator...

As much as he wished that he had an unintellegent opponent, he did not. Kawaki was dangerous as you got and he was fiercely smart to boot. He had also been a good friend. But a freaking manipulative one.

He only used me to get to my father...

That wasn't true, though, as much as he wanted to believe it so, some part of him knew better. Knew they had truly bonded for the short time they were friends. But still, Kawaki had deemed his end goals more important in the end. And now everything was screwed up.

"I'ma pound you so hard for this, friggin hard-headed show off punk," he growled. He pushed the hatch open and was now standing in the elevator shaft. Hope no one uses this and it suddenly becomes a speeding bullet towards the ceiling...

That wouldn't be pretty.

Taking the wire from earlier, he threw it up in the air, trying to loop it at the top so he could climb up. He would not even attempt to climb up the elevator's cables. It would be booby trapped to electrocute anyone who dared try.

The rather dark climb took a solid minute or two without chakra. At its end, he pried the door open slowly, making sure the hallway it led to was empty. From the crack he was looking through it appeared to be. He pried it open further, enough to slip through. And—

"Hey, you!"

Crap! A guard.

He rushed toward them, palm thrust out, smacking their forehead. They fell backward and he followed up with a kick to their diaphragm, winding them. He rushed closer, still not finished yet, wrapping his arm around their neck. They struggled but soon the lack of oxygen had them passing out. The guard collapsed limply in his arm and he slowly released them, but only once he was positive they were truly unconscious.

"All right," he whispered standing to his feet. He glanced around. There were no other guards standing watch. Good. The office, if Kawaki was in there, and he would be if Boruto knew him at all, was only a door away.

Boruto squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. This was it. Time for answers, time to make Kawaki fix this.

Yes.

Dad...I'm so sorry.

The door, his father's door.

And of course, he would be in there, acting like he owned it. So predictable.

The monster's voice could be heard drifting on the other side:

"What do you mean there was an incident?"

A pause.

"Was it the Taka? No, then who—"

Boruto's heart raced.

Kawaki was on the other side. Maybe with one other person at least, but still completely unaware of Boruto's presence.

"No, I can't believe that. He isn't that stupid."

He couldn't help barge in. Let the door slam against the wall, his sword drawn.

"Kawaki!" he cried.

And there he was, Kawaki, wide-eyed from the sudden intrusion, standing against his father's desk, a cell phone to his ear. So he was alone. Perfect!

Boruto smiled triumphantly, sword pointed at him. He didn't understand why Kawaki suddenly looked in tip-top shape after their fight, why his appearance had changed, the once wild mane on top his head pulled into a tame tail, his suit, a freaking suit? But Boruto did know one thing, right now, and it thrilled him.

He had the upper hand!

Kawaki's widened eyes soon narrowed and he shook his head, almost disappointedly.

"I take that back. Apparently, he is that stupid."

He snapped the phone shut, not bothering to catch Boruto's following scowl.

So the phone call had been an update, most likely about the store incident. Whatever.

"Kawaki," he growled. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Kawaki merely sighed and settled back so he was sitting on the desk, still facing Boruto.

"I believe you are the one who has a lot to account for, old friend."

Boruto's hand was shaking, his heart racing. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Sighing as if exasperated, Kawaki shifted once again. He leaned to the side, pushing a button on the desk and spoke into it. "Security. Code C...S-1."

"What...?"

"You have approximately thirty seconds to leave this place and quit harassing me. If you are still here, well, you've done yourself in."

Crap!

No matter, he would take care of the punk before the security even arrived. That or he would just take care of them as well. However this played out, he would not leave this place without the punk.

"Just tell me what the heck you've done! What's going on, Kawaki?!"

Kawaki straightened himself and pulled out a cigarette and lighted it. He spoke again, the stick between his teeth and his tone one of utter disinterest.

"First, like some pussy, you suddenly ran for it or something. I don't know. And this entire time, I'm wondering what your next move is, I wait in anticipation, and you just cower. Then this? You come at me like this? So disappointing, I expected better of you, Bo."

He exhaled a stream of smoke, his light eyes studying Boruto. There was something different about them, the face holding them. Not just the change of hair either.

Boruto blinked. "What?"

And then it hit him.

Bo.

He had just called him Bo.

There was only one person in the entire world who called him that.

He lunged for Kawaki, the sword dropping behind him as he shoved him into the wall, his shirt balled in his fists.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Kawaki's eyes were wide, the cigarette falling to the floor.

"She? She's fine. I apologize, I guess I just picked it up, Boruto. There, that better?"

He was shaking. "My home is one thing. I swear if you've laid a single finger on her!"

Kawaki rolled his eyes, prying Boruto's fingers off his shirt. "You know me better than that. And your home? Are you daft? It's all here, fixed."

Boruto's eyes narrowed and Kawaki smiled. Then swept his leg to knock him down. Boruto panicked for a second but pulled his hands up to catch himself with the wall. By the time he did Kawaki was at the desk again, pulling at one of the drawers.

Crap, he was hunting for a weapon, Boruto had dropped his' and now rushed for his master's sword.

"No you don't," he screamed, snatching it from the carpet. "You're going to put everything back to the way it was before!"

He held it up, pointedly at Kawaki, as did Kawaki with his own weapon.

Boruto's brow crinkled. A black weapon gleamed from Kawaki's hand. He didn't...What was it called? He had heard of a longer version of that thing before, the name escaped him though...

A metallic device that spat out pellets like a cannon. He remembered that something of the sort was used in prisons like Hozuki Castle.

Whatever it was, Kawaki pointed it at him now, and suddenly he had the upper hand. By the time Boruto even swung his blade, that small cannon-like device, yes, that gun, could...

"You no honor?"

Kawaki's lips curled. "Oh please, spare me your backward notions of real honor. Besides, you're the one who came in here, trying to assault me."

"How could I not after everything you've done!"

Voices and footsteps flooded the room as the two continued to stare the other down in a frozen standoff. Boruto's eyes darted around the room as it continued to fill with men and women wearing matching uniforms.

"Chancellor," one called. "Your orders?"

What the heck's a chancellor? Whatever it was, it was a position of authority. And it was Kawaki? What the heck happened to the role of Hokage?

"Thank you," Kawaki spoke out loud, his eyes not leaving Boruto's. "Boruto here has just attacked me. He also still has his network. Take care of that."

Boruto hissed between his teeth, speaking quietly, "Kawaki, I'm not leaving until you start making sense. Now start giving me answers already!"

Kawaki shook his head, and stepped back, lowering his firearm. "Take care of him. I've got paperwork to catch up on."

Howling, Boruto leaped at him, sword held high. A guard rushed to get in his way, batting the blade away.

Hissing, he spun around, swinging the blade widely as more of the security personnel went after him. "What's your guys' problem? I'm the son of the Hokage and this guy is a murderer! He destroyed the village!"

"This guy's a loon," one called from the back. Boruto ignored them and continued to defend himself from the onslaught.

Kawaki in the meanwhile watched from the sideline, lighting another cigarette.

Crap, Boruto couldn't take them all on. He would have to use chakra. He may not have recovered all of it as he would have liked but he had enough!

"That's it, you guys asked for it!"

He started weaving seals together. "How about—"

Suddenly there was a loud crack sound, hot and angry, and Boruto was falling to his knees, hissing in pain.

"Augh!"

It became dead still.

Kawaki stood in front of him, lowering his weapon. "There will be no more of this nonsense now. Got it? Just go silently for once."

Boruto hissed, reaching for the origin of the pain. His arm. It stung like a thousand fires, sharp and intense.

"I didn't want to resort to this," Kawaki continued to speak, looking down on him. "It is just a surface wound, but I also line my bullets with a specific venom."

Now it was paralyzing, the pain. Boruto could do nothing more than drop his forehead to the floor, his back arching, grounding his teeth.

To the side, on the carpeted floor, a small metallic pellet. The bullet, Boruto realized.

He had shot him. Freaking shot him.

And to make it worse, so much worse, one of the guards latched onto his arms, wrenching them behind his back.

Realizing what was happening, Boruto cried out, "Stop! Don't you guys see him! Nng! Let me go!"

Cold metallic cuffs locked around his wrists.

"Stop!"

They didn't care, even as he struggled as much as his body could afford to. The poison, whatever it was, it was a devil to fight back. But he tried the same, dragging his feet and trying to pull himself free of their grip.

"You can't do this to me! You don't understand!"

"Uzumaki, you're under arrest for assault, and for carrying and wielding an illegal weapon and chakra."

"Let me go!" he howled, slamming himself into the nearest guard in an attempt to loose their grip on him.

A fist crashed into his stomach, and he collapsed, sinking to his knees. He threw back his head groaning.

"Son of a..."

The over zealous guard readied to strike him again and suddenly a hand was grabbing his arm, stopping him from doing it.

"That's enough. He's already apprehended."

Boruto glanced up wearily.

Kawaki.

He stood tall, speaking with authority. "He is still the Hokage's son, and as wayward as he is, he'll be treated as such. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes...Chancellor."

The guard lowered his arm.

Boruto looked down, his breathing raspy.

"Kawaki...Please, just..."

Kawaki shook his head.

"Boruto, we've tried talking countless times. And never do we get anywhere. I tried reasoning with you. And by coming here, you brought this on yourself."

"Please, just listen to me—"

"Goodbye Boruto."

He closed his eyes and wished it all away. But it wasn't going anywhere. And neither was he but an utter blackness as they dragged him away in handcuffs.