Boruto Confirms Who Is Truly Konoha’s Most Ruthless Hokage Ever

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex hasn’t been shy about turning the world upside down for the son of the Seventh Hokage. Boruto Uzumaki now lives in a world where his former allies have become enemies and former enemies are now friends. Luckily, the shonen protagonist still has some comrades to count on, one of which who has plenty of sway in the Hidden Leaf Village. With Naruto and Hinata trapped in a limbo-like state thanks to Kawaki’s machinations, Shikamaru has taken on the role of Hokage and is proving that he’s willing to go to any extreme to make sure that his people are safe.

Warning. If you have yet to read the latest chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, Chapter 17, be forewarned that we’ll be diving into serious spoiler territory. Konoha has long had a history of powerful Hokages who were more than willing to perform vicious acts to make sure the Hidden Leaf Village’s safety was assured. The Seventh Hokage has mostly bucked this trend as Naruto has attempted to rule over his people with a more peaceful outlook on the world. Unfortunately, with the Seventh no longer in the picture, leadership duties fall on Shikamaru and the genius tactician is far more willing to rely on deceipt and savagery to accomplish his goals.

[RELATED: Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Teases Kawaki’s Ultimate Transformation]

Shikamaru’s Emotional Ruthlessness

The newest villains of the Two Blue Vortex are the Divine Trees, antagonists who take their form from captured ninjas that they place within the fauna. Of the trees that we’ve seen so far, a major example is Matsuri, the only female member of this villainous collective. Originally Moegi of Konoha, Shikamaru already foresees that Konohamaru and the remnants of Team 7 will be encountering her in the future and has come up with a plan worthy of infiltrating the Trees.

Moegi has long been a part of the Naruto franchise, first appearing alongside Konohamaru when the two were toddlers. Thanks to the Divine Trees seemingly holding no “true evil intent,” the current Hokage comes up with the idea of Konohamaru befriending them to backstab them later on. As Shikamaru explains, “Win them over. Tame ’em, while they wilde beasts are still innocent cublings and then betray them. Naruto probably wouldn’t take this route, but I’m not him. I propose this tactic to get rid of these superhuman monsters for the survival of humankind.”

Romeo & Juliet of the Ninja World

Shikamaru then explains further why Konohamaru is the perfect choice for this mission, stating that Matsuri has feelings for the ninja even though she doesn’t know why, “Do you know why you’re Matsuri’s target? It’s cuz she bears romantic feelings towards you. Although it seems Matsuri herself is not aware of this or rather she has no idea what the emotion she’s feeling is. So this plan may put her in a state of turmoil. If it does, that will likely give us a favorable edge. Be heartless. Divine Trees are our enemy.”

Shikamaru has always been a brilliant mind in Konoha’s roster but his cruelty here might just be what the Hidden Leaf needs. Unfortunately for the village, it seems as though far more problems are coming their way than hurting Matsuri’s feelings.

Want to see what the future holds for Konoha? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on the Hidden Leaf and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.