Boruto Teases New Otsutsuki Clan Member

Warning! Major spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Chapter 38 below!

While the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime has been hit or miss with fans over the last few months, the manga releases for the series have been a major success. Embroiled in an intense new arc exploring the mysterious Kawaki and the even more mysterious power of the Karma mark, the latest chapter of the series brings the fight between Naruto, Sasuke, and Jigen to the next level. But with this fight, fans also learn a major new detail about the Otsutsuki Clan that just opens up way more questions.

In Chapter 38 of the series, it’s revealed that Jigen is not actually a secret member of the Otsutsuki Clan as first theorized, but is instead the vessel for the currently unseen Isshiki Otsutsuki — who is being teased as the fourth member of the Clan that arrived alongside Kaguya, Momoshiki, and Kinshiki.

Following up with the tease of a new Otsutsuki Clan member that Sasuke had briefly seen in Chapter 35 of the series, Jigen begins his battle with Naruto and Sasuke by revealing a dark new transformation. While this transformation was theorized to have a tie with the Otsutsuki Clan, it was previously thought to have been Jigen who was hiding the fact that he was a secret member of the clan.

But through the chapter, it becomes increasingly clear that Jigen is just a pawn in a bigger plan. As he fights Naruto and Sasuke, a strange gem in his stomach begins to crack as he laments that his vessel is “weak” and further hints that he needs Kawaki soon. After the battle comes to an end, Jigen begins to collapse, and a tear comes out of his eye.

It’s here that another presence seems to be in Jigen’s body. This presence ridicules Jigen for being weak and crying, and outright says that he is not worthy of being “Otsutsuki Isshiki’s vessel.” Calling Jigen a defective failure, this transformed version of Jigen further teases that this new “Isshiki Otsutsuki” is using Jigen as a puppet.

The form Sasuke saw in Chapter 35 must have been a hologram of Isshiki’s true form, and now there’s a mystery as to what Isshiki’s plans are. Why does he need a vessel when the other members had physical bodies? Why is he breeding a new Ten Tails? These questions will most likely be answered as the arc continues, and just might explain why Kawaki goes on to seemingly destroy the Hidden Leaf Village.

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.