Naruto Gaiden: The Road Illuminated by the Full Moon

Mitsuki stirs awake inside a hidden lab belonging to Orochimaru, drained of strength and fed by a cluster of tubes. Orochimaru hands him a dose of medicine, which he swallows before his weakened grip lets the cup fall, then instructs Suigetsu Hozuki to bring the boy along once he has recovered. Left alone, Mitsuki realizes he cannot recall anything about himself, not even the man who just spoke to him.

Elsewhere, Orochimaru confers with a hooded, cigarette-smoking figure, remarking that this marks the sixth attempt and wishing for a better outcome. When Suigetsu leads Mitsuki away, he claims the boy was hurt during a paired assignment, then abruptly lunges with a blade. Mitsuki dodges on reflex, stretches an arm to pin Suigetsu and snatch his kunai, and blocks a follow-up strike with his free forearm. Suigetsu slips loose by turning part of his body to water, noting that even without recollection, Mitsuki's frame still knows the movements of a trained shinobi.

Orochimaru then presents himself as Mitsuki's parent, calling the boy exceptional and pledging to restore what was lost. He describes an enemy known as Log who hoards stolen memories and puppets his victims by feeding them fabricated ones, and insists that only Log can hand Mitsuki's past back. Mitsuki keeps pressing for answers about the mission and about which parent Orochimaru truly is, but each question is brushed aside with the same assurance that he is special.

During the operation, Mitsuki shatters a protective barrier so the pair can reach their target. Log senses the breach and reveals he had intended to come for them anyway, chasing a particular key. His paralysis technique no longer holds any grip on Orochimaru, and the two trade sword strikes. Orochimaru's poisonous snakes are turned aside by Log's armor, and Log seals Orochimaru in place using a senjutsu-empowered jutsu. The advantage flips when a second, smaller serpent slithers through a gap in the armor and delivers its venom, freeing Orochimaru while Log falls paralyzed.

Wounded, Log asks Mitsuki to lift his mask so he can breathe, promising the truth in return: it was Orochimaru who exploited the boy's blank memory, not the other way around, and the two of them share the same nature. Mitsuki removes the mask and finds an older version of his own face beneath it. This elder Mitsuki explains that both are artificial beings grown by Orochimaru, that Orochimaru came seeking the embryo they originated from, and that he intends to seize the key, unlock the case, and destroy the specimen he views as monstrous.

Orochimaru returns unbothered, declaring his love for his children regardless of how they were made and boasting that Mitsuki's power now surpasses his own. Rather than side with either figure, Mitsuki manifests his Sage Transformation, refuses to let anyone dictate his choices, and departs with both the embryo case and the key before either can react.

The confrontation is later framed as a deliberate design by Orochimaru, who hoped his creation would find his own answer instead of obeying. The elder Mitsuki, now smoking like the earlier hooded figure, muses that the younger one could become a light against the dark. Inside the case Mitsuki discovers a photograph of Boruto Uzumaki, the photo of the sun Orochimaru had described, setting up the belief that a boy who finds his own sun can become a moon that brightens the shadows.

The chapter's title plays on a homophone of Mitsuki's name, which can be read as full moon, an idea reinforced by the furigana. Kishimoto produced the piece specifically as promotion for the then-upcoming Boruto series.