A Special Mission

Back on active duty after a long absence, Team 7 files into the Hokage's office curious about their orders, and Mitsuki remarks that this will be their first outing with Kawaki on the roster. Waiting inside are Shikamaru, Kawaki, Sumire, and Konohamaru. Boruto and Kawaki, meeting for the first time since Boruto's revival, awkwardly play it cool while Sumire tries to soften the tension. Cutting to the heart of it, Shikamaru names the village's two gravest concerns: Boruto, now a complete Ōtsutsuki who could be seized by Momoshiki, and Kawaki, safe from possession yet too formidable to keep in check. Sarada notes he is merely restating what everyone already knows.

Shikamaru discloses that Amado lived through his clash with Code and stripped away his own limiters, ranking his strength above Jigen's but under Isshiki's. When Sarada guesses the job is to remove him using the boys' Ōtsutsuki gifts, Shikamaru refuses and turns to Ada, describing her power to make anyone fall for her and noting that Boruto and Kawaki, as Ōtsutsuki, are immune. Sarada assumes the target is Ada instead, and again he denies it. Aboard a train, Amado observes Ada as she spies on the meeting. Shikamaru lays it out: Amado's scheme succeeded, Code has lost her, and she is now bound for Konoha. Since she bows to no one, the goal is to keep her from becoming a foe, and the mission is simply to cohabit with her, with Boruto and Kawaki taking up residence in her home. The assignment stuns Ada, and Sarada realizes it is really surveillance, since outsiders could act on Ada's behalf even if she does nothing herself; the team must gauge how far she will cooperate before she is permitted to stay.

Confident she will agree, Shikamaru exposes her attraction to Kawaki, to general surprise, Ada's embarrassment, and a racing heart that Daemon detects while Amado presses her for answers. Boruto questions why she would fixate on the one person immune to her, and Sumire suggests she craves something genuine, though Kawaki calls the whole thing senseless. Shikamaru then reveals Ada's clairvoyant Senrigan, warns that every word should be treated as overheard, and addresses her directly as the first move in a diplomatic dance; he also notes she can help pin down Code, whom Kawaki would rather just fight. Konohamaru assigns Boruto to mediate between Ada and Kawaki while he, Sarada, and Mitsuki watch from a distance with backing from the Sensor Team. Elsewhere, Sasuke and Naruto weigh the plan as little more than house arrest, and Naruto explains the underlying logic: handing the boys a mission covertly reins them in, since neither would sit out a fight even against an enemy beyond them. A flicker of Momoshiki's presence brushes past Boruto, felt by both Kawaki and Sasuke. A minor art error appears on page 10, where Sarada's forehead protector is mistakenly drawn with a scratch. This chapter is part of the Omnipotence Arc and was collected in Volume 19.