'Boruto' Reveals Kawaki's Tragic Origins

Boruto's anime may have a bit more of the Chunin Exams to go through, but its manga is moving full speed ahead. Not long ago, the sequel released its latest chapter, and the big update introduced Team 7 to a man who will one day bring the Leaf Village to its knees.

So, really — are you surprised the guy has a sad backstory? What did you think was going to happen?

If you are caught up with Boruto, then you know its most recent chapter delved into Kawaki's past. The kid finally woke up after Team 7 stumbled upon the boy, and the group discovered Kawaki has the same Kama marking as Boruto. However, when the strange kid woke up, he attacked outright and treated the Leaf ninjas as enemies.

However, it doesn't take long for fans to learn why Kawaki doesn't trust easily. As the chapter goes to explain, the boy grew up in a household ruled by his abusive, alcoholic father. When fans see Kawaki as a younger boy, he's shown bruised on the floor of his father's house while the older man drinks and throws insults at him. It is then fans learned that Jigen, the leader of Kara, paid a handsome sum of cash to buy Kawaki off his father. And, by the time the flashback ended, Jigan asked Kawaki to treat him as his dad.

Of course, fans are certain Kawaki's childhood with Kara wasn't an easy thing. Not only did Kawaki try to escape from the group as their vessel, but he made sure to treat any Kara ally he saw with contempt. When he thought Boruto was part of the organization, he was quick to write the blond-haired boy off, and he did the same to Garo when the Outer Kara member stepped in to retrieve the vessel.

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 surprised by how Kawaki's introduction went down? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!