In the 10 years since Naruto ended, its sequel series, Boruto, has continued to expand the saga of the Ninja world. Thus far, the saga has followed Naruto’s son, Boruto, as the 12 year-old ninja attempts to live up to his father’s reputation as the Seventh Hokage, and as the greatest ninja who ever lived. As of Aug. 21, however, the manga will be rebranding under the Boruto: Two Blue Vortex title, much as its parent title rebranded from Naruto to Naruto Shippuden upon its own time skip.
How did Boruto‘s first volume end?
That requires going back to Boruto‘s beginning. See, Boruto has been facing the family of Naruto’s greatest enemy, Kaguya Otsutsuki, for most of the series. Several years after the events of Naruto, the Otsutsuki Clan turned out to be a species of extradimensional aliens that feast on the chakra of unsuspecting worlds, and, well, Boruto did not like that very much. In his battles with the group, he ended up with a Karma seal — a failsafe intended to bring one of the Otsutsuki’s kind back to life by taking over the body of another — containing the soul of Momoshiki Otsutsuki.
By Volume 1’s end, Boruto’s DNA has been irrevocably altered by the seal, making him essentially one of the Otsutsuki. Kawaki, a character that was introduced at the beginning of the manga via a time skip panel which showed him at odds with Boruto years into the future, also received a seal bearing Isshiki Otsutsuki and eventually became Boruto’s ally. Unfortunately, Kawaki came to the realization that he had to kill his friend in order to end the Otsutsuki threat permanently.
Ada, a girl with Omnipotence, a ninja ability that allows its user to alter the memories of the world, had developed a crush on Kawaki. In order to grant his greatest wish, she used her power to rewrite the world so that Kawaki would not have to harm his friend. The trick worked too literally, however, and Kawaki and Boruto swapped life stories in the eyes of everyone else. With Kawaki becoming known as Naruto’s son while Boruto became known as an outcast, the city of Konoha turned against Boruto.
Luckily, Sarada — Sasuke’s daughter — was able to convince her father of Boruto’s identity, urging the two of them to flee the hidden village for parts unknown. Oh, and Naruto and Hinata have been locked away in an alternate dimension by Kawaki, who sought to try to protect them from new threats now that Naruto’s Nine-Tailed Fox is gone, severely weakening the Hokage.
What’s the plot of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex?
Four years after Sasuke and Boruto fled the Hidden Leaf Village, the soul of Momoshiki Otsutsuki continues to plague Boruto — much in the same way Kurama bothered his father. The series’ timeline has now caught up with its prologue, in which an angry Kawaki and Boruto duke it out in the ruins of a destroyed Konoha.
Way back in the prologue, it was stated that Naruto was also missing in this future timeline. Now, it’s been revealed that Naruto is, in fact, alive, and was not killed by Kawaki as had originally been assumed. Fans had feared that possibility: in many sequels, the protagonist of the old show is downplayed in order to make way for the new show, and that was something fans didn’t want the world’s greatest shinobi to go through.
But now, the series will have an entirely new dynamic. With Naruto and Hinata gone, Boruto’s journey is about to become a lot darker. After having traveled with Sasuke for four years, Boruto’s surely also got some new moves up his sleeve, making the villains in this new story arc stronger as well. That will probably include Kawaki, who’s had four years to train as well. Several other characters, such as Sarada Uchiha, have also had time to hone their abilities as well. Himawari, meanwhile, has now had time to perfect her Byakugan. And who knows what character has taken on the mantle of Eighth Hokage in Naruto’s absence? It remains to be seen what villainous characters will emerge from the shadows this time, but when they do, Boruto will surely be ready.