Naruto Reveals Ao’s Dark Reason for Visiting the Hidden Leaf

Back in the day, fans of Naruto knew Ao to be a surly man, but his heroic actions during the Great Ninja War covered for his lacking personality in most ways. However, that seems like it will be changing before long. After all, Ao has returned for a stint in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, and it turns out the war hero isn’t the honorable guy many expected him to be.

This information was doled out unexpectedly at the end of Boruto‘s newest episode. The update followed Team 7 as they took on a mission that put them in the path of Ao. The Hidden Mist ninja is found on a train by the group, and Boruto has an important chat with Ao before Team 7 has to depart. And once the tykes are gone, Ao is prompted to reveal the real reason he went to visit the Hidden Leaf.

Ao admits he was heading to the Hidden Leaf to kill Katasuke, the same ninja scientist who Team 7 is traveling with. The retired ninja told a disguised Kashin Koji the plan was to kill the doctor should Katasuke have remembered anything about their last meeting. It seems Katasuke has forgotten all about the ordeal, and Kashin is pleased to hear the news.

Clearly, this conversation proves Ao has soiled his once respectable reputation. The Hidden Mist ninja didn’t have a great history backing him before the war, but Ao made himself amenable during the bloody ordeal. Most fans expected Ao to stay on that redemptive path after the war closed, but that is not the case. It turns out Ao has instead allied with Kara, and his reasons for visiting the Hidden Leaf are nowhere near as innocent as fans were led to believe.

What do you make of Ao’s revelation here? Did you expect him to be a villain in this Boruto arc? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.