Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 10 analysis & Implications
Sarada vs Hidari & the Mangekyou of Sarada: As we know, the fight between the last survivors of the Uchiha lineage is approaching: Sarada & the Shinju of Sasuke. Sarada’ll face a Shinju that’s absorbed Sasuke’s chakra & powers, plus the power of the Ten Tails. It’ll undoubtedly be a fight that’ll offer one of the most impressive battle choreographies & 'll foster necessary character development as she faces a formidable enemy. The first time Sarada encounters Hidari, he automatically attacks with Chidori. Sarada dodges & counters with Chidori. This symbolic act kicks off the fight, as only two living people can execute Chidori: Sasuke & her. However, she’s confused; although it’s clear her opponent possesses Sasuke’s chakra & powers, Hidari isn’t Sasuke. (This topic’ll be addressed in another section of the post). Sarada holds one of the most important positions & stories in the manga, being the heroine of the story, heir to the Uchiha power, immune to omnipotence & possessor of the Mangekyō. Why have 10 chapters passed & nothing has been revealed about the Mangekyō? Even the rebirth of the Kyubi was revealed before the powers of the MS; the answer is simple: the abilities Kishimoto’ll grant Sarada in the Mangekyou’ll be convenient to the story’s context. When the power of that Mangekyō is discovered, it’ll be a pivotal axis that’ll mark a before & after in the narrative of Two Blue Vortex. The Mangekyou Sharingan is meant to be a decisive point in the plot. To contextualize, among the special abilities known so far in Mangekyou users, there are dangerous & high-level powers like Kotoamatsukami, Tsukuyomi & Kamui. Theoretically, Sarada should awaken with the Mangekyou two special abilities (they can be both new & those already mentioned, for example, Itachi & Sasuke had Amaterasu in common), in addition to the Susanoo (considering the divine weapons of Susanoo). The Sharingan is a dōjutsu of Ōtsutsuki lineage that comes from the Rinne-Sharingan; it was Indra Ōtsutsuki who awakened & bequeathed this ability to the Clan descended from him, the Uchiha Clan. It’s important to highlight that, with just the Sharingan three tomoe, definitive techniques like Izanagi, a technique based on Hagoromo’s Banbutsu Sōzō no Jutsu, & Izanami, both Kinjutsus characteristic of the Uchiha clan, could be used.
The last thing to discuss in this section (which’ll likely generate antagonistic opinions in the fandom) is the fact that, observing how events are unfolding in chapter 10, where Kawaki had (and was the only one who could) intervene in Himawari’s fight against Jura, the complexity of these enemies, representing not just an individual but a collective problem, being a monthly manga & mainly, the way Boruto is (and has always been) emotionally involved with Sarada, I wouldn’t be surprised if, sooner or later, he joins in Sarada vs. Hidari. He knows the danger these enemies pose & won’t hesitate to support the fight. Only two people have, on an emotional level, the authority to intervene & support this fight: Sakura & Boruto. This position of Boruto is something Kishimoto has made clear from the beginning of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, just as Sarada intervenes without regard for her own life when Boruto needs her. This feeling is mutual between them & is fully justified. Although some of the fandom may see it as a regression in Sarada’s character, it’s actually an enrichment of the characters & an added value by Kishimoto, a shōnen where, beyond the fights, bonds & expressions of human feelings are valid to show & are present. Additionally, it would allow us to see quite an interesting team battle choreography, as Boruto & Sarada have always formed a formidable combat team. The heir of the Hiraishin & the heiress of the Mangekyou united in battle.
2. The Shinjus: They’re still a mystery. In fact, they don’t even know exactly what they are. Hidari asked himself & the other Shinjus: “Exactly What… are we?” We know they’re the result of a “claw grime” absorbing a person’s chakra. They’re a divine tree evolved & self-aware, produced by Code’s Ten Tails, created from the chakra of the person they’re absorbing, but the implications of this are still unclear.
We also know that the people the Ten Tails has absorbed are still alive. However, how long’ll they remain alive after the “claw grime” absorbs them? Will there come a time when Sasuke & the others sealed’ll die if not released? If Sarada kills Hidari, or if someone kills one of the Shinjus, does the person get released or die? And when releasing the person, does the Shinju die? These are questions still without definitive answers. Only time & the plot’s development’ll provide us with more information about these mysterious beings.
We could see this as the birth of a new species, or rather, the Ten Tails’ species becoming conscious. Moreover, they have a goal linked to the person from whom they’re absorbing chakra, which, if they manage to fully absorb, they’ll find a higher degree of evolution. The powers of the Ten Tails, the human abilities of the “sealed” person, the Rinnegan, the ability to launch bijudamas with their eyes, & even their wisdom & thirst for knowledge, make these enemies something totally unknown & formidable. Keep in mind that, in addition, their main goal after their “target” is to devour an Ōtsutsuki, therefore, they have the capacity to face enemies with levels of power that humanity isn’t capable of facing.
It won’t be a short battle & everyone’ll probably have to support each other to achieve something against this threat. Kawaki, upon learning that Himawari was in danger, quickly headed to the battle. Boruto, due to the resonance between the Karmas, can’t be near Kawaki, so he’ll likely assist in the battle within Konoha.
The battles against these enemies’ll be fought in teams & will likely be more than one confrontation. Although symbolically each Shinju has its target, it’s clearly a global problem, so it’s normal for third parties to be involved, even mixing scenarios. Everyone is in a conflict on the scale of the Fourth Shinobi World War, where everyone had to ally to achieve something against the common enemy. But, to summarize, the protagonists of the battles go like this:
Kawaki & Himawari vs Jura
Sarada & Boruto vs Hidari
Konohamaru & Team 10 vs Mitsuri
Eida & Daemon vs Bug
3. Himawari & Kurama: It’s interesting to see how they’ve imprinted on her the concept they initially had with Boruto (Byakugan + Kyubi). With lineage from Hamura’s line (Hyuga clan) & Ashura’s line (Uzumaki clan), & now with the Kyubi, she’s placed among the most powerful characters with raw chakra of the new generation. It’s surprising that Kurama’s return has caused astonishment in readers, considering it’s predefined that the tailed beasts don’t die definitively but reincarnate. A precedent for this is Isobu. Moreover, there’ve been hints (especially in the anime) that Himawari would somehow be related to the tailed beasts. She’s always shown interest in them; she even coexists with Shukaku in an anime episode.
The relationship between Kurama & Himawari started on good terms. Kurama retains his memories, including his time with Naruto, with whom he formed a bond of friendship & familiarity after they understood & accepted each other as equals. This precedent opens the opportunity for a friendly & mutual collaboration between Himawari & the Kyubi. An interesting fact to consider is that Kurama retains his past memories. There’s a possibility that they haven’t been altered by omnipotence, & if that’s true, he could convey to Himawari that her brother is actually Boruto, & that all the experiences she believes she shared with Kawaki (before omnipotence) were lived with Boruto.
Some believe that Himawari’s suspicions are due to the hidden power in her (the Kyubi), but that’s not the case. Sadly, Himawari was affected by omnipotence, & the fact that she feels Naruto & Hinata are alive & that “Boruto” would never harm them is because, due to the effect of omnipotence, her experiences lived with KAWAKI make her believe they were actually with Boruto. In short, what’s really being conveyed to the reader is that Kawaki would be incapable of harming Naruto, & that’s why she feels Naruto & Hinata are alive. Remember that omnipotence exchanged in people’s subconscious the memories & concepts they had of Kawaki & Boruto, but it didn’t alter reality.
4. Regarding Inojin: Another event that caused a stir is that Inojin was impaled by Jura. There’re already people who’ve prematurely concluded that Inojin is dead, but the truth isn’t definitive.
If Inojin survives, this’d mean 2 things:
Himawari might use some special power of the Kyubi to heal Inojin.
Inojin could be saved by the ninja medical unit, or by interference of ninja technology, although it’s important to understand that ninja medical jutsu & ninja technology have their limits.
Otherwise, it’d bring many implications to the plot. It’d be an emotionally shocking blow for many characters, starting with Ino & Sai, the Ino-Shika-Cho team that was raised as siblings, & other close friends of Inojin. It’d be the first character from the descendants of Naruto’s generation to die in battle just as the conflict begins, showing how dark the situation in TBV could start to turn. For Himawari, already the fact of losing her parents hardened her character, seeing the death of a special friend for her, who also died trying to protect her, would awaken a deep desolation.
For others like Boruto, Sarada, Sumire, & Mitsuki, who’ve known & shared time with Inojin at the academy, & Sarada & Boruto who’ve known him since childhood, it’d be an important before & after. It’d show them that no one is safe in the situation they’re living & that they’re facing dangerous enemies who don’t value human life. For Boruto, it’d be a hard blow to know that he might’ve helped, but the activated karma didn’t allow him to do anything in that situation. For the older generation, the loss of Inojin would make them aware that they failed in their mission to bring an era of peace to their children & the new generation, & the harsh reality that a new war has begun.
5. Boruto & Kawaki: Kawaki identified Boruto’s weak point in the previous chapter. It’s impressive that all of Boruto’s shinobi feats in the first 9 chapters were due to his pure training, without relying on the power of Karma. This is a great source of power, but at the same time his greatest weakness. Something must’ve happened over those 3 years that led Boruto to radically avoid karma. That fear has to do with Momoshiki, who finds a way to materialize & take over Boruto’s body by channeling through karma.
As we know in advance, in the battle Boruto vs Kawaki on the faces of the Hokages, Boruto can already activate his Karma at will. That is, by that point, Boruto’d probably have full control of his powers. But, seeing that Kawaki noticed that Boruto’s weakness is the activated karma, a possible scenario is envisioned: The cause of the destruction of the Shinobi era & what subsequently leads to the last confrontation between brothers is that Kawaki exploits Boruto’s weakness, causing him to lose control & Momoshiki to cause destruction. For some reason, Boruto regains control of his body & enters battle to defeat Kawaki.
Considering Boruto could lose control of the Karma at any moment & is emotionally affected by it, you can be sure that Sarada’ll be the one to help him channel those emotions. She’s the person he calls home, the intact fragment of his past, & she’ll be the one to show him he has the strength & will to stop Momoshiki. Sarada has always been a light in his life & was the one who thwarted Momoshiki’s plans to take over Boruto. The fight against Momoshiki is a battle waged on the plane of emotions & wills. And rest assured, Sarada won’t let Boruto fall into darkness; she’s the love that’ll turn Boruto’s vortex into a spiral. As always, Kishimoto gave us a great reference to this in Minato’s one-shot: Sarada is to Boruto what Minato was to Kushina & what Hashirama was to Mito.
There’re many more points that could be discussed, but this is what I wanted to highlight from the chapter. Boruto TBV is just beginning, there’s a lot to go through before drawing definitive conclusions.
Before closing, I’d like to point out that to know what ideas & projections Kishimoto has for the characters & their interactions, it helps to know chapter 700 of Naruto, “Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring”, & the novels belonging to Boruto’s timeline, some of which are written by Kishimoto & others directly supervised by him. These fit very well with how the characters are behaving in TBV. After Kodachi delegated the writing back to Kishimoto, a change in perspectives is noticeable. TBV is a pure concept of Kishimoto, so for those who like to theorize, analyze, or simply have a more complete understanding of the work, I suggest reading those stories that are part of the canon.
And lastly, beyond criticizing or causing fights in the fandom, enjoy the canon! Kishimoto has great things prepared.