Presence

Chafing under constant watch, Boruto passes time with Kawaki, Shikadai, and Inojin, and Kawaki takes note when Inojin mentions that the sensory team can pinpoint any enemy unless that person erases their chakra signature. Amado sits with Shikamaru and tries to reassure him that Code, for all his power, is not especially clever, though Shikamaru stays wary that everything is unfolding by design. Amado counters that much has surprised him lately, including his own defection to Konoha and, above all, Kawaki's bond with Naruto. That night Kawaki carries out the trash under Nishi's eye and cuts through a shrub on the way back.

Boruto senses something off, feeling Kawaki's presence outside where the real Kawaki crouches in the bushes, even as Nishi still reads both boys as being indoors. Ada reports to Code that Kawaki has erased his signature, a knack that comes naturally to every Ōtsutsuki. Boruto realizes the Kawaki in the bathroom is a shadow clone left as a decoy, and when Naruto asks to see him, Kawaki opens the door and dispels it. The true Kawaki heads beyond the village, and Code travels to a nearby Claw Mark, has Ada guide him, and closes the gap to mark Kawaki. Boruto slips away while the adults are distracted, hoping the sensors will trace him as he traces Kawaki.

Code and Kawaki clash, with Ada cautioning Code not to kill him by accident. Kawaki demands Code take only his life as vengeance for Isshiki and leave Konoha out of it, but Code refuses and beats him down, declaring he has inherited Isshiki's will to grow a God Tree and devour its chakra fruit. He then stuns Kawaki by saying someone else wants to meet him and moves to take him away, just as Boruto arrives to intervene. The two argue, Kawaki insisting he is willing to die to protect Naruto, and when Kawaki claims Naruto's wishes do not matter, Boruto punches him, calls him a brother, and activates his Kāma.

This is Boruto: Naruto Next Generations episode 290, part of the Code's Assault Arc, adapting manga chapters 61, 62, and 63. It highlights the chakra-suppression trait shared by the Ōtsutsuki and drives Kawaki's self-sacrificing attempt to shield Naruto from Code.