BORUTO ALTER

RAIN POUNDED UPON nearby windows.

Amegakure's city proper spread beyond cracked panes, displaying a citadel prospering from the current order while also marginalizing the poorest of its citizens.

Amado smiled bitterly, grimacing as the taste of pure ash followed the desperate pull of a cigarette.

It was his last one.

I miscalculated.

Amado thought that Deepa would join him-

He trusted Kashin Koji with this naivety, and in return compromised both of their positions.

Damn it.

Amado glowered, turning away from dim windows.

He paced across a sparse lab, returning to a container unit that held precious research.

Kashin would have to destroy the rest.

Otogane Gamou...

By now, knew her pet was under Amado's full control-

Far sooner than Amado would like.

Further..

Delta's face crossed Amado's hurried conceptions, and the man chuckled at his own longing.

Pathetic. Worrying about a tool during times like this..

Suddenly, footsteps broke against the sound of heavy rain outside.

Amado inhaled harshly, knowing the tell-tale stomps of Kashin Koji before the creature made himself known.

"Go ahead," Amado said confidently despite his rasp, refusing to face the anomaly.

"Tell me how foolish I am. How I grew overconfident." Amado added.

He did turn then, spitting out the cigarette that stained white teeth.

Kashin Koji stood before Amado. The dead man's white hair contrasted directly with a black mask, while a similarly colored cloak wrapped around his shoulders.

Amado found his eyes drawn to Kashin's borrowed arm..

Do you even realize the legacy you carry, Kashin Koji?

Amado mused.

I was this close… another three years, maybe less. That was all I needed.

Amado closed tired eyes.

He opened them at the sound of further movement-

Kashin's footsteps grew closer.

"Jigen has declared both of us enemies of Kara. My position is to be replaced."

Amado's eyebrows furrowed in dull amusement.

"Do you know who?" The scientist asked.

Kashin's cloak fluttered- causing Amado to smell the rain that shook off of it.

Amado's eyes fled from the decrepit being that spoke soberly to him.

"Khitan cut off contact with me almost immediately. He revealed my position as well. Deepa was sufficient.. in his report."

Despite no longer looking at him, Amado could perfectly picture Kashin standing silently, arms crossed as a strange mask dipped forward.

"You know I'm aware of that." Amado smirked. He continued packing away only the data he needed- namely, information he had on them.

A chill crept down Amado's neck.

Otsutsuki.

Amado shook his head, focusing again on circumstance wrought by error.

"Khitan fulfilled his last mission for us." Amado coughed gruffly, pausing.

I need to stop smoking.

Victor's Outer.. Shota Inuzuka.."

Amado continued.

"Yes. The gangs are reporting seeing a ghost-"

Kashin paused.

"A ghost taking the appearance of a white wolf.. carrying the upper body of a red haired girl." He finished.

Amado turned away from Kashin Koji, finding instead a waiting chair. The man sat, directing a shaking hand that wiped away errant sweat.

"As long as Kawaki escapes… individual variables of error become irrelevant." Amado uttered softly.

He hated himself for feeling like this. For all of his work.. all of those sacrifices…

To fail here?!

Amado snorted, laughing to an audience of one.

"You want me to stay amongst Amegakure. Ensure the boy is able to flee Madan Goro." The masked dead susurrated.

Amado nodded, looking back towards rain-speckled windows.

"More than that." Amado answered after a spell of silence.

"Jigen will be sending Kara to retrieve Kawaki. You.. gave Kawaki the last dose, correct?"

Kashin nodded.

Amado gifted himself a reassuring breath.

Then that brat should be free of Jigen's influence.

Gradually, of course. And only for a short time.

Amado's eyes hardened.

"Get Kawaki to Konoha. Shota won't kill him until they're both back within the Land of Fire, so it's fine if the Inuzuka...ferries him."

Kashin's breath quickened.

Amado smiled within.

Yes..

Which stolen parts of you call to that village, Kashin Koji? The one from me, or the body given to you by Otogane?

"And where will I find you?" Kashin asked.

"You will know. Jigen... He's angry now, but not even my assistants can replicate what I did for him. They may be able to keep him going for a year, maybe less."

Kashin laughed.

"So you're hoping to outlast Lord Jigen."

Amado returned the dead's chuckle.

"At the very least Lord Jigen won't kill me."

Amado's eyes narrowed.

"Same can't be said for you. Be careful." The scientist warned.

Kashin Koji's masked visage gazed upwards, moving alongside a hidden grin.

He turned, opening a sliding bamboo sheet that revealed Amegakure's lower inner city. Lights shone beyond Kashin Koji's cloak, spreading around him as if stars.

"I've noticed…you've begun to speak to me as if I'm human, Amado." Kashin replied simply.

In the next second the corpse was gone.

Amado was left to the sound of rushing rain.

A/N: I know this is a short chapter, however I promise there will be another chapter this week! This chapter ended up being super long and I decided I'd split it up for narrative punch. I apologize for the delay- I've been working hard on the boruto alter manga. With that said, I finally figured out how I want the rest of this arc to go. There's a lot of cool stuff coming, so hopefully you'll forgive this short chapter.