Naruto: 'Boruto' Just Made A Shockingly Brutal Sacrifice

Naruto fans are familiar with heroic sacrifices, but no one has gone out like that in Boruto. That is, until now. The series' latest chapter saw one ninja give his life for the sake of his team, and the kill was a brutal one.

Really, it was a fatality straight out of Star Wars.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generation released its 20th chapter this month, and it picked up with Team 7 on a dangerous mission. The genin were sent with Katasuke to find Konohamaru after the jounin went missing during a mission. The group reunited shortly before Ao revealed himself to be the villain hunting them down, and the war hero was ready to kill the group to silence their chatter about Kara.

Ao used his own brand of ninja technology against Team 7 as his chakra-loaded machine gun wreaked havoc upon the battlefield. Ao went on to disarm Katasuke and harm Konohamaru, leaving Team 7 in pretty dire straights. However, Mugino chose to stand up against Ao and give his comrades time to run away.

The jounin, who was injured on his original mission with Konohamaru, wrapped his arms around Ao. The villain was not impressed by the simple attack, and he set off the chakra lightsaber attached to his arm prosthetic. The blade went straight though Mugino's chest which was lethal enough. However, the Leaf Village fighter went the extra mile to ensure his comrades' safety. Mugino used an Earth Release jutsu to collapse part of a cave ceiling upon himself and Ao which temporarily stopped the latter. Konohamaru confirmed the attacks were fatal to Mugino given his previous injuries, and his sacrifice sobered Team 7 as they formulated their plan to return home without Ao striking them down.

For those unfamiliar with Boruto's predecessor Naruto, it has quite a storied history. Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, the series ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows Naruto, a young ninja with a sealed demon within him that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.

Are you happy to see the manga take this dark turn? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!