As soon as those words fell, the surrounding atmosphere instantly grew heavy, plunging the entire scene into an awkward silence.
Young Boruto only then realized that his reaction a moment ago might have been a bit too unseemly. He slowly raised his head and met Kakashi's strange, searching gaze.
Instantly feeling like he had said the wrong thing, Boruto scratched the back of his head and stammered out an explanation:
"Um... I didn't mean it like that... It's not what you think..."
Watching Boruto, Kakashi simply shook his head and said nothing more, walking on toward the Hokage's Office on his own.
Seeing this, Young Boruto offered an embarrassed smile and hurried after him.
*Tap, tap, tap...*
Crisp and rhythmic knocking echoed outside the door of the Hokage's Office.
Kakashi stood straight, a calm and steady look in his single visible eye as he lightly raised his right hand to knock politely on the door.
"Come in."
A melodious voice drifted from inside. Just those two short words were enough to make anyone easily imagine that the speaker must be a great beauty.
Hearing the prompt, Kakashi slowly pushed the door open and led Young Boruto into the room.
Tsunade was currently lowered over her desk, engrossed in handling the mountains of paperwork piled before her.
Her beautiful features were partly obscured by her long blonde hair, but that did little to conceal the powerful aura she emanated.
Shizune stood quietly beside Tsunade, cradling a round, pink little pig in her arms.
Seeing Kakashi enter, a gentle smile surfaced on Shizune's face as she softly said:
"Oh, it's you, Kakashi."
"So late..."
Then, her gaze naturally drifted to Boruto standing behind Kakashi, causing her to pause slightly.
At that moment, hearing Shizune's voice, Tsunade also stopped what she was doing and raised her head.
Her bright eyes, like deep pools of water, instantly locked onto Boruto behind Kakashi.
In a flash, an indescribable sense of familiarity welled up in her heart, causing Tsunade to furrow her brow slightly as she began to scrutinize the strange yet vaguely familiar teenager before her.
Pulling back her thoughts, Tsunade looked at Kakashi and asked:
"Who is he?"
Kakashi looked at Tsunade and replied:
"It's a bit complicated."
"This young man says he is Master Minato's disciple, and that he's come to join the Hidden Leaf Village."
Hearing this, Tsunade froze for a moment. "Minato's disciple?"
"How come I didn't know about this?"
Kakashi glanced at Boruto before speaking up:
"I didn't believe it at first either, but he can use the Master's Ninjutsu."
"The Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique."
With these words, silence descended upon the office.
After a moment, Tsunade gave Boruto a deep look, then said to Shizune:
"Go fetch Jiraiya."
Shizune replied, "Yes."
With that, she hugged the pig and left the Hokage's Office.
After Shizune gently pulled the door shut and left the room, Tsunade's beautiful and sharp eyes never left Boruto for even a second.
She simply gazed quietly at the young man, as if trying to pierce through his exterior to uncover the secrets hidden deep within his heart, remaining entirely silent the whole time.
Under Tsunade's intense and prolonged stare, Young Boruto felt an indescribable awkwardness spread through his entire body.
It felt as though countless tiny bugs were crawling all over him, making him involuntarily squirm and quietly duck behind the Kakashi standing beside him.
Fortunately, this awkward atmosphere did not last long. Just as Boruto was about to reach his breaking point, familiar footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Immediately afterward, the closed door was pushed open once more, and Jiraiya walked in alongside Shizune.
As soon as he stepped into the office, Jiraiya caught sight of Young Boruto cowering behind Kakashi's back.
He stroked his chin, sizing Boruto up from head to toe with great interest.
After a long while, he slowly spoke: "Tell me, kid, are you really sure you aren't Minato's illegitimate son?"
"The more I look at you, the more you look exactly like Minato when he was young."
Hearing this, Boruto reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, frantically waving his hands as he shouted in denial:
"No, no, absolutely not! Don't go spouting nonsense!"
Yet, in the face of Boruto's protest, Jiraiya still wore an expression of clear disbelief.
Amidst this tense atmosphere, Tsunade took the lead in breaking the silence, speaking with a solemn expression:
"Kakashi tells me he has somehow mastered Minato's Rasengan and Flying Thunder God Technique."
Hearing this, Jiraiya furrowed his brow slightly, shifted his gaze to Boruto, and slowly said:
"Kid, since that's the case, show it to us."
Young Boruto nodded, took a deep breath, and slowly raised his right hand.
In an instant, a powerful surge of Chakra radiated from his palm, and a spinning sphere of blue light—the Rasengan—materialized right in his hand.
Jiraiya stared intently at the Rasengan in Boruto's hand, a flash of appreciation crossing his eyes, though it quickly faded back to calm.
He nodded slightly and muttered under his breath: "Hmph, truly the genuine article..."
Stroking his chin in thought while fixing his hawk-like gaze straight into Young Boruto's eyes, Jiraiya said:
"You see, Minato would never easily teach his Ninjutsu to anyone outside the Hidden Leaf Village—especially high-security, immensely powerful techniques like the Flying Thunder God."
"So, kid, you absolutely cannot be his disciple! Besides, as Minato's former teacher, I've never heard of him having an apprentice like you."
"However."
Jiraiya's tone shifted as he continued on his own:
"If you truly have mastered this Ninjutsu, then there is only one possibility left."
"You must be Minato's illegitimate son."