Boruto: Naruto Next Generations new big bad, Isshiki Otsutsuki, has declared his next target – and it’s none other than his escaped “vessel” (and Boruto’s new friend) Kawaki! The “Kara Arc” began with Kawaki escaping from the Kara organization, which had been grooming him to be the vessel for Kara’s leader, Jigen. In reality, Jigen’s body was being used by Isshiki Otsutuki, and hid inside the former monk in miniature form, waiting for Kawaki to come of proper age and power. However, Jigen’s plan (literally) went up in flames in a battle with his traitorous soldier (and Jiraiya clone) Koji Kashin!
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Warning: Boruto Manga Chapter 48 SPOILERS Follow!
In the latest Boruto manga, Koji Kashin/Jiraiya’s powerful flame summoning techniques successfully annihilated Jigen’s body, forcing Isshiiki to fully inhabit Jigen as his vessel, and reveal his true form. This was the plan of Kara’s chief scientist (and Koji Kashin’s partner) Amado, who correctly theorized that Isshiki’s resurrection would eliminate all the other Karma seals he left behind on other vessels, like Kawaki. Since Jigen’s body was never meant to house Isshiki’s full power, the Otsutuski villain has mere days to inhabit a proper vessel (Kawaki) before he will die. That gives Naruto and Sasuke a rare window of opportunity to actually kill an Otsutsuki for good.
However, Isshiki is aware of the ticking clocking as well and is not one to waste time playing around with his life. Isshiki unleashes some fearsome new jutsu and nearly kills Koji Koshin, so that he can move on to his real mission: attacking Konohagakure and re-acquiring Kawaki as his vessel!
Naruto and Sasuke have death flags planted on them, as they step up to defend Hidden Leaf from Isshiki. The pair previously battled Isshiki while he was still in his weaker form as Jigen. That fight ended with Sasuke suffering near-fatal injuries, and Naruto being imprisoned in another dimension, until Kawaki, Boruto, and Team 7 rescued him. With Isshiki’s Otsutsuki powers and jutsu now fully-powered, it really doesn’t look good for Naruto, Sasuke, Kawaki, or Hidden Leaf itself.
This upcoming battle is easily the most pivotal event in Boruto so far, and raises some major questions about that flash-forward sequence battle between Teenage Boruto and Kawaki, over the ruins of Hidden Leaf Village. As with every twist and turn of Boruto’s “Kara Arc,” we once again have to wonder if the flash-forward was warning us of what Boruto’s eventual fight with Kawaki/Isshiki will look like – and why (Naruto and/or Sasuke’s death) Boruto goes all-out to win it.
You can read free chapters of Boruto online HERE.
