Chapter 429: Return of the Heaven Descent
"How are we getting there? I'm so excited for the orientation ceremony!"
Many of the students were filled with overwhelming anticipation—not just for the ceremony, but for the chance to see their favorite legendary shinobi.
Naruto looked up at the Hokage Monument and called out, "Uncle Tonbo, sorry to trouble you."
Following his gaze, the crowd of students looked skyward to see a figure standing atop the Hokage Monument.
It was none other than a shadow clone of Tobitake Tonbo.
Standing alongside him were several notable shinobi, including Tobitake Tianyu, Choji Akimichi, and Neji Hyuga.
Tonbo's shadow clone nodded and responded, "No trouble at all, piece of cake."
He wove hand seals.
Rumble!
In an instant, the ground beneath the students began to roll violently, causing many of them to stumble and a few to lose their balance completely.
However, they quickly realized that they were no longer standing on solid earth.
Instead, they were resting atop something that felt like a colossal, soft feather—soft and forgiving as they tumbled onto it.
Whoosh!
Gradually, they felt themselves rising into the air. By the time they regained their composure, wispy white clouds were already floating around them.
The blazing sun in the sky felt so close it seemed almost within arm's reach.
"Where are we?"
The kids looked around in complete bewilderment.
It didn't take long for them to realize that they were all standing on the back of a massive bird.
"Whoa! How did we suddenly end up on a giant bird?" Chocho Akimichi stared at the vast blue sky and white clouds, catching sight of Konoha Village rapidly shrinking into the distance.
Her chubby, dark-complexioned face was written all over with sheer curiosity.
Shikadai observed the avian creature's back, along with Naruto and the other teachers standing at the front.
"This is Captain Tonbo's secret art. It's a Yin Release ninjutsu capable of solidifying the imaginary into reality. But creating a bird this massive must consume a staggering amount of chakra."
Shikadai then noticed that Captain Tonbo and the others were no longer present on the bird.
Inojin Yamanaka remarked, "In certain aspects, this secret technique is definitely way more convenient than my Super Beast Scroll."
The core function of Super Beast Scroll was quite similar to Captain Tonbo's technique.
However, their underlying mechanics differed slightly: Super Beast Scroll required drawing to manifest objects, whereas Eye of the Creator could materialize anything as long as the base medium was prepared.
Boruto and Denki stared at Konoha Village receding rapidly behind them, their faces filled with awe.
Denki gasped, "Gosh, a single ninjutsu accomplished what usually requires an airship! That's insane!"
Just judging by the smooth stability beneath their feet, Denki—who had studied extensive engineering concepts from a young age—could estimate that their standing platform was no smaller than a full-sized airship. Yet, it was merely the product of a single ninjutsu.
Denki was already beginning to second-guess his ultimate life goal.
Can I really develop Scientific Shinobi Tools capable of achieving something like this? Did I pick the wrong career path after all?
"Big deal! My dad can just fly directly," Boruto muttered under his breath.
Still, recalling the astounding scenes he had witnessed during the wedding at Tobitake Tonbo's house years ago, he had to admit this was pretty mind-blowing.
He just refused to yield, convincing himself that his dad was simply too busy to show off his true capabilities. Besides, he would learn to fly someday too.
After all, modern Konoha possessed plenty of ninjutsu that granted shinobi the ability to take flight.
The establishment of the Technology Development Bureau had elevated Konoha's foundational assets across every imaginable metric.
"Where are we heading?"
A young boy clad in a green jumpsuit asked, his wide eyes brimming with confusion.
"You can think of this as your freshman orientation ceremony—a chance for you to experience the overwhelming power of top-tier shinobi firsthand. Your ultimate goal is to surpass them. In fact, you will surpass them, growing stronger with every passing day," Naruto addressed the students as they regained their bearings.
Internally, Naruto couldn't help but admire how handy Uncle Tonbo's power was—though he wondered whether these kids were about to get scared out of their wits once the actual experience began.
The other instructors—including Konohamaru, Moegi, and Shino Aburame—all harbored a look of quiet anticipation.
Teacher Tonbo was notorious for his mischievous streak. Now, it was their turn to sit back and enjoy the expressions on this new generation's faces.
Back in their day, they too had suffered through Teacher Tonbo's various pranks and grueling training methods.
"What about the other seniors?"
The freshmen had heard rumors about this orientation ceremony many times. Older Academy students always spoke of it with quiet reverence, and now they were finally about to experience it for themselves.
Before long, they arrived over a vast, boundless expanse of ocean, gazing down at the deep blue waters below.
"Huh? Why did we come all the way out over the ocean?"
Boruto and the others exchanged bewildered glances.
"Alright, Phase One of the orientation begins now! Many Jonin in Konoha have gone through this exact trial in the past, and now it's time for you to experience it. I hope you'll all be capable of pulling off similar feats in the future," Naruto said, a grin finally spreading across his face.
Poof!
The moment the words left his mouth, the giant bird vanished into thin air with a heavy plume of smoke.
Every single student felt the ground disappear beneath their feet. The blood rushed straight to their heads as their faces turned varying shades of pale green.
"AAAAAAGHHHHHH~~~~~!"
Like dumplings dropped into boiling water, every student plummeted straight down from an altitude of ten thousand meters.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Naruto activated flight and drifted alongside them in midair, watching their panicked expressions with a look of pure satisfaction.
Every time he saw new students getting thoroughly pranked by Uncle Tonbo's mischievous training methods, a wave of cathartic joy washed over him.
It was no wonder Uncle Tonbo loved messing with people so much—he truly was the founding father of Konoha's practical jokes.
Back when Naruto was a student himself, he had been quite the rowdy troublemaker. When he was on the receiving end of those pranks back then, Uncle Tonbo and the others must have felt the exact same amusement.
Truth be told, ever since becoming Hokage, the freshman orientation ceremony had become one of Naruto's favorite times of the year.
His duties as Hokage were simply too overwhelming.
Even though he deployed numerous shadow clones, his lack of natural aptitude for political administration compared to Teacher Kakashi meant he had to invest twice the effort, leaving him with precious little personal time.
Using shadow clones continuously took a massive physical and mental toll—even with Shikamaru shouldering a huge chunk of the workload.
Although Teacher Tonbo had repeatedly advised him that a Hokage should delegate certain responsibilities to others, Naruto simply couldn't bring himself to step back.
Becoming Hokage had been his lifelong dream, and he was determined to be the absolute best at it—to give the villagers a better life.
Thus, every freshman orientation served as a rare moment of genuine relaxation.
It was also a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends and acquaintances. Ever since taking office, his social circle had been largely restricted to Konoha's active Jonin, meaning there were people he hadn't seen in years.
"Dad! What's going on?!" Cold sweat poured down Boruto's face as he saw Naruto flying comfortably alongside them.
What kind of sick joke is this?! Falling from this height is going to turn us all into human pancakes!
He believed he would learn to fly eventually, but certainly not today!
Naruto chuckled warmly, "This is part of the orientation experience—soak it all in! If you want to avoid falling into terrifying situations like this in the future, you'll have to study hard and learn how to overcome these conditions."
Boruto had always been gifted with natural talent, and Naruto had been waiting for this exact day to teach his son a lesson in humility.
"How are we supposed to overcome this?! You'd need to be a Chunin or a Jonin at least to survive a fall like this!" Boruto's face darkened, utterly speechless.
The intense weightlessness of freefall made his heart hammer violently against his ribs.
"Not necessarily. Take a look at Inojin over there," Naruto pointed toward another spot in the sky.
Boruto turned his head to look, his expression darkening even further.
Across the sky, Inojin Yamanaka had instantly whipped out a scroll from his waist and scribbled a few quick strokes across the paper, manifesting a giant bird to catch himself.
However, the downward gravitational force was far too intense—the drawn bird was immediately crushed back into raw ink upon contact.
Undeterred, Inojin immediately began executing the ninjutsu a second time.
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