Madness

Boruto tears through packs of Extreme: Shinobi Picture Scrolls cards, annoyed that Sasuke's card keeps eluding him, all while griping about the constant watch Konoha keeps on him and Kawaki. Shikadai reminds him the monitoring is exactly what lets Kawaki roam freely under the shadow of Code's threat. When Boruto wonders why sentries are needed alongside the Barrier Team's sensing net, Inojin and Shikadai explain that the barrier only flags intruders and cannot deal with them once they slip inside.

The group weighs whether any of the watchers could stand against Code, concluding that a sensor would simply pinpoint the enemy so Naruto or Sasuke could respond. Inojin notes that slipping past the Yamanaka-run unit would demand hiding one's chakra entirely. Sasuke, meanwhile, studies one of the Claw Marks scattered around the village and doubts Code would surface there. Atop the Academy, Shikamaru sorts through reports until Amado joins him, calling Code careful but far from clever, and admitting that Kawaki's genuine devotion to Naruto has caught him most off guard.

After dark at the Uzumaki household, Kawaki hauls out the trash, ducks back through a garden tree, and speaks with Boruto indoors, yet Boruto still senses him drifting away outside. He realizes the version inside is a shadow clone and that Kawaki has somehow blanked his own chakra presence. Ada informs Code, explaining that erasing one's signature is an inherent Ōtsutsuki trait Kawaki has stumbled into by instinct. Seizing the chance, Code slips out from a Claw Mark on a tree, pressing his mouth to the sign to request Ada's directions as she looks on in disgust.