Naruto: What's Next for Boruto and His Villain Era?
Boruto has thrown an unprecedented twist into the Naruto Saga with its latest manga chapter. (SPOILERS) Kawaki did the unthinkable and banished Naruto and Hinata to another dimension – all in the name of protecting Naruto and Hidden Leaft from the threat of the Otsutsuki. However, Kawaki still needs to get away from Hidden Leaf so that he can actually track down and fight his foes.
The big twist in Boruto Chapter 79 comes when Ada uses her all-seeing Clairvoyant vision to locate and intercept Kawaki. Ada's affection for Kawaki makes her want to protect him at all costs; Kawaki, meanwhile is coming apart over his big dilemma: to stop the threat of the Otsutsuki for good, Kawaki has no choice but to kill his "bro" Boruto!
Indeed it has long seemed like the major personal conflict of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations would be the falling out between Boruto and Kawaki – after all, that very battle in the near future time is how the series opens. There was a nice (on the nose?) echo of Naruto's story with Sasuke in that Boruto/Kawaki subplot – but now things have changed in a big way!
(MAJOR SPOILERS FOR BOURTO MANGA!)
Boruto Chapter 79 sees Ada reveal her god-level power to alter reality itself – a power she subconsciously taps into, in order to give Kawaki an entirely new and more favorable set of circumstances. Kawaki finds that he is now the son of Naruto, while Boruto takes Kawaki's place as the dangerous outsider who betrayed Naruto.
What's Next For Boruto After Switch Lives With Kawaki?
This latest twist in Boruto is something that pretty much no one can say they saw coming. It also sets the series up for a potentially nice, clean, break in volumes – much like the break between Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden. It could be for the best, as Boruto has struggled somewhat as a franchise. The Boruto anime is just about to end its first installment and regroup for a better second run later; the timing seems perfect for the manga to stay in sync...
As for the story of Boruto itself: this reversal of life stories has done an interesting job of thrusting Boruto into the Sasuke role. That could be one of the more novel and interesting things to happen in this series since it began. The whole "Naruto Next Generations" aspect of Boruto hasn't exactly wowed fans: having Boruto actually out having to fight and survive on his own would be the first real chance for the character to earn significant cred as more than just "Naruto's son."
Boruto being hunted by his family and/or friends will also be an exciting twist to see play out – especially with the intrigue of having select characters like Sarada and Kawaki still remembering the truth about what Ada did. Finally, Boruto being alone with the ghost of Momoshiki Otsutsuki still lurking inside of him could potentially be more interesting than Naruto's drama with Nine-Tails. Code, Daemon, and Ada are already set as major villains of power that need to be defeated, so already Boruto has lot on his plate to deal with.
The most interesting thing will be seeing how Boruto adjusts to his new life circumstances, and what kind of a hero it forces him to become. One of the biggest criticisms of Boruto is the titular character himself and his lack of edge. Well, that edge could soon get forged.
Boruto releases new chapters monthly.