'Naruto' Fans Are Bracing Themselves for One 'Boruto' Newcomer's Death

The latest episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was called "Boruto's Wish", and it chronicled Boruto's internal struggle to come to terms with hi feelings about Mitsuki. Boruto had been in hot pursuit of his friend since he fled from Hidden Leaf - he finally caught up to him outside of the Hidden Stone, only to have Mitsuki seemingly betray him, and blast Boruto with a lightning strike.

Mitsuki's attack leaves Boruto unconscious for some time, which puts his companions Sarada and Team 10 (Inojin, Shikadai, ChoCho) in the precarious position of having to choose between retreating back to Hidden Leaf, or venturing ahead in pursuit of Mitsuki to Hidden Stone.

While Sarada and Shikadai are guarding Boruto's body and debating their choices, the group is happened upon by an unlikely ally: a cute little Akuta that was left behind by his full-grown cousins, Kokuyou and Sekiei. The group of genin decide that the little guy will be a useful tool, which will help them prove to Naruto and the rest of the Hidden Leaf leaders that the threat forming over in Hidden Stone is all too real. 'Lil' Akuta' takes an instant liking to Inojin and the group nominates him as the little beast's official keeper - despite Inojin's reluctance.

Needless to say, 'Lil' Akuta' has quickly become a fan-favorite new edition to Boruto during this "Mitsuki Arc"; however, a lot of fans seem just as nervous about the little guys' future as they are happy about his introduction. In short: a lot of Naruto fans think 'Lil' Akuta' is going to die!

Here's some of the chatter from over on Reddit:

"inb4 Akuta dies saving Inojin. My heart isn't ready."

"It does have a pretty big death flag"

"man by now people have predicted sasuke will die saving boruto and/or sarada, sekiei will die saving mitsuki and now akuta will die saving inojin. :("

In addition to these ominous prophecies about Lil's Akuta's demise, fans have been feeling some major heartswell from some of Lil' Akuta's cheekier moments in the episode. That includes the creature's fiery first encounter with ChoCho:

"HHAHHHAHHAHAHAHAHHA THE WAY THE TINY AKUTA SMACKED THE CHIPS OUTTA CHOCHO'S HAND LMAO."

"The best kind of fan service. I actually like cho cho and even I thought that was fucking hilarious."

Or how Lil' Akuta has (literally) learned to keep pace with his new ninja friends:

"also it was doing the ninja run which was kinda awesome. The way it acts and all.. Thats it Tiny Akuta is my new favourite character. ima call him Lil Akz"

Do you think Lil' Akuta will die at the end of the "Mitsuki Arc," or will he ecome a regular part of Boruto's entourage? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Catch Boruto streaming weekly on Crunchroll and Hulu - and the English Dub Saturdays on Toonami.