[Kawaki's mental instability and Boruto's responsibility]
1- The line Kawaki crossed.
Something always comes up during Kawaki character-related discussions, which is the implication of Kawaki becoming "crazy" due to his attachment to Naruto.
It was first introduced by Amado, who claimed Kawaki's love for Naruto is veering on madness. In case he meant to describe Kawaki's unhealthily obsession in an over-exaggerated manner, it fits but not really.
Amado was wrong, mostly projecting his own craziness about his daughter on Kawaki. After all, someone who abandons his daughter's needed treatment because he could recreate her is not a sane person to begin with.
Let's take Kawaki back prior to Momoshiki's third takeover.
He was exactly in the same situation he is in now but worse: Code was out there vengeful same as now, Boruto was a real threat who'd turn into an Otsutsuki soon and on top of that nobody had any powers to stop either of them.
On a light note, Kawaki was clinically depressed, anxious to say the least. He suffered a mental setback as a result; nightmares, mode swings, compulsive self-deprecating.. Etc.
Yet, not once, not in a single fleeting panel, not even in his thoughts he considered the idea of Boruto dying for the purpose of getting ride of Momoshiki.
The opposite, he was afraid for him. He didn't want Boruto to die enough to suggest implanting Karma (the thing he hates most) on Code to save him (which also served as a way to protect Naruto but it was for Boruto's sake mostly).
When it came down to fighting Code, he couldn't take the risk. He believed Boruto would die and asked him to leave the battle-field asap even though Boruto dying to Code is one threat down.
Boruto was always a threat, Kawaki knew it. He fought Momoshiki before and cautioned Boruto about it to his face but he didn't and couldn't acknowledge the implication of what that means.
Boruto being a threat was a reality Kawaki didn't want to face, much like his need for Karma.
When Momoshiki took over at the end of Isshiki's arc, Kawaki couldn't accept Boruto was gone even when he actually was at that time.
He kept full high on denial unlike Sasuke and Naruto, he'd look at Momoshiki and see Boruto solely in there.
They were separate entities in his head until Code's battle forced him to accept the bitter truth.
Shikamaru made a point of Kawaki not hesitating to kill a comrade, which he saw as an issue born from his unhealthy obsession with Naruto, that it made him mentally unstable.
He is not completely wrong, Kawaki's fear of losing Naruto is so strong, it triggers panic attacks and emotional breakdowns. But that didn't drive him crazy, it drove him to be self-sacrificial.
Before the Code battle, Naruto basically showered him with affection and assurances but Kawaki's conclusion wasn't to get Karma back & kill Boruto/Code to keep Naruto safe.
His answer was to kill himself so they could all live.
The point I'm making; Kawaki's mental instability/madness wasn't born out of Kawaki's attachment to Naruto itself. He didn't go around promising death on anyone who might or will be a threat to Naruto regardless of how much he himself loves them.
What really drove him crazy was this:
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Kuruttenakya dekinÄ nda yo kyĆdai koroshi nante yo
Viz screwed up the line. It's whole meaning was lost.
Quick JP lesson:
Kurutte : Going/becoming crazy/mad.
nakya: Have to.
dekinÄ nda yo: Can't/unable to.
kyĆdai koroshi: killing a brother.
nante: Something like/ such as.
The "yo" is just for emphasizes.
So the full line will be "[You/I] have to go crazy or [you/I] won't be able to do it. Something like killing [your/my] brother."
Why Japanese don't have pronounces?
Kawaki is a very self-aware person. He sat there and shamelessly admitted the most embarrassing things about how he sees himself and what Naruto is to him, but what he associated with craziness- what he had to force himself to go crazy for; wasn't Naruto.
It was killing his Brother.
Experts say there had been cases where patients ended up being clinically crazy or depressed because they forced themselves to pretend to be those things.
Under the dire circumstances, Kawaki was forced to instantly accept Boruto needs to die.
He didn't process this decision, unlike Naruto/Shikamaru, he wasn't on the sidelines.
He had a split second to decide, and another to act on it.
The hesitation Shikamaru searched for in Kawaki's demeanor when he killed Boruto wasn't there because he didn't process his emotions, he gave priority to understanding the stakes.
"It's a do or die now"
And the opposite of processing your emotions, is shutting them out.
If Kawaki didn't stomp on his emotions, he wouldn't have been able to do it.
He didn't have the luxury to in fact, as nobody else there would've taken the burden.
So he took this responsibility upon himself, willingly sacrificing his sanity to succeed.
In other words, killing Boruto was like crossing a line.
Boruto got to come back from it, mentally unscathed, Kawaki didn't.
2- The burden of being Boruto's brother, Kawaki's responsibility.
For all Boruto's gifts, emotional intelligence wasn't one of those.
From the very first arc of the manga up until his resolution in ch80, Boruto suffered a consistent flaw of misjudging people based on his personal impression of them. He doesn't strive to get a better understanding of someone.
If he forms an idea of somebody, he doesn't budge unti he's forced to.
Examples:
Believing Naruto was a useless good for nothing despite everybody's attempt to make him understand.
Painting Tento as an insufferable brat without realizing how much they had in common.
Assuming a stranger like Ao was a good man based on 1 conversation, little did he know..
Defined Kawaki's whole existence based on his first impression of him (more on this later).
What I get from this is Boruto loves to be certain and right. He hates being in the gray area where he doesn't know what he thinks of someone or what his thoughts are about something.
He hates doubt, unsureness.
It's a flaw that he isn't very self-aware of:
His first impression of Kawaki is based on an incident he wasn't present when it happened so he had little to no proof yet he was quick to point fingers and fill in the blanks about this new person he just met.
Ripped off a very long Kawaki analysis that never saw the light;
During the first few days the author depicted how estranged and alienated Kawaki was from everyone else on both social and emotional level. This was first shown in the famous vase scene when he broke it accidentally, creating a dispute between him and Boruto.
The narrative purpose of this sub plot is to parallel Kawaki, a self-estranged person, with Boruto who grew up normally and healthily which allowed him to learn and be capable of engaging emotionally with other people and his own feelings.
Contrasting Kawakiâs disengaged state, who knew what he did to Himaâs vase was a mistake as a matter-of-fact but didnât really connect with Himaâs sadness or get why it was even important, making his apology come of as shallow and diminishing.
Boruto on the other hand didnât catch on Kawakiâs detachment state and thought he was being intentionally uncaring.
Boruto adoration of Kawaki came as one of those moments where Boruto stands corrected. Except this time Boruto has messed up pretty bad, almost getting his sister killed if it wasn't for Kawaki.
This was the beginning of Boruto's growing dependence on Kawaki. It's not far-fetched to claim their relationship is mostly carried by guilt and reliance on Boruto's part.
Kawaki always came in a clutch for him, be it saving Himawari, saving Naruto & Sasuke, or saving Naruto later on. Boruto (& Momoshiki) would've killed or caused the death of plenty of people many times otherwise.
As a result he developed a sense of dependence and thought he could do anything so long Kawaki was by his side which Kawaki didn't reciprocate.
In Japanese he basically said "Hurry up and be independent, you mf"
There's always this wedge between them, because Boruto never knew true despair or what being unsafe feels like. All these incidents were mere "big missions" to him, it's how he navigates his path as a Shinobi.
But for Kawaki, it was about survival. For he knew what irreversible damage is, the things he can't take back, things that can't be repaired.
He doesn't feel safe and motived just because somebody he cares about is around. Be it Naruto or Boruto, not when they are as powerless as he is.
The only reason Kawaki felt safe enough to actually start mentally healing after Delta's fight, was because he thought Naruto could take care of Jigen.
Boruto doesn't understand that. What he views as a "big victory over Momoshiki", the dying part he didn't care about because he was "prepared", it broke Kawaki.
And he let him do it, asked him to, in fact. Then tried to paint it as a proof of their brotherhood, the highlight of their bond as it's so strong and special, he can even ask Kawaki to kill him, you see?
That, "he did it cuz we are bros".
Boruto couldn't be more wrong.
It wasn't about him. Kawaki would've killed anybody who threatens Naruto's life, that person being his brother merely drove him unhinged.
Boruto thought they were in this together, that part was correct at first. Kawaki kept his promise to him and took the burden of fulfilling it.
Sacrificing his sanity, his life in the village and his relationship with Naruto.
None of those consequences crossed Boruto's mind. He's comfortable knowing Kawaki or Sasuke would deal with Momoshiki if he came out, all he has to do is die which is not a big deal for him as he sees honor in Shinobi death.
Kawaki shouldn't have been "the only person he could ask him to do it" but the last one, if Boruto understood what being in Kawaki's place means.
3- The burden of being Kawaki's brother, Boruto's responsibility.
Of all the people Boruto misjudged, Kawaki remained the only one Boruto couldn't get a grasp of. Even when he comes so close to figuring him out, there is always something missing; Experience.
For instance, he understands Naruto means a lot to Kawaki but never why. Therefore he can't comprehend the actions Kawaki takes to keep him safe.
He doesn't know what it feels like living years of nothingness, then someone gives something to you.
Same goes for Kawaki's self-blaming, self-destructive behavior.
Regardless, Boruto spared no effort to help Kawaki.
It was him who compromised first to begin with, claiming him as a brother without expecting Kawaki to change himself, or have anything in return.
He made a promise to him to help him defeat his abuser.
He gave him his headband to make him feel included and one of them.
Having a loved one who suffers from mental disorders is a burden, you always have to put extra effort you put in dealing with a healthy person.
Boruto never gave up on him even when Kawaki stepped out of line during the training scene, or trying to sacrifice himself despite how Naruto would feel about it.
He stuck to his side and didn't budge.
But he was unable to see the world from Kawaki's perspective which created a disconnection between how they feel about that incident.
Boruto seemed to go about his life, naive enough to believe it changed nothing.
For Kawaki, his mental stability took a great hit- at some point he even forgot what he was supposed to do; protect Naruto and the village via his Otsutsuki acquired powers because they'd have an early death otherwise. Yet he imposed that fate on Sarada with his own hand.
A visualized proof of Shikamaru's warning to Sarada before she disobeyed him and left, that Kawaki was basically crazy at the moment.
He couldn't think straight, operating solely on what he deemed "facts" rather than how he felt.
His breakdown in front of Eida showcased a great deal of emotional blockage.
An emotional blockage is activated in certain situations to cushion the impact of a negative situation or event that can be very painful for us.
His thought process devolved from facts, to bargaining to an emotional blow.
Despite his resolve to protect Naruto at all costs - including killing Boruto - he never came in terms with Boruto's death up until after Omnipotence.
Boruto's responsibility:
From his point of view, he was the one who cornered Kawaki to cross all lines.
In a way, he was.
Boruto himself didn't commit any wrongdoings, he is not to blame for Momoshiki's rampages but he is the carrier, even though he didn't choose to be.
But realistically, if you were carrying a certain illness that potentially could destroy everyone around you but you adamantly chose to live, wouldn't you be responsible if somebody got hurt because of that?
Boruto reached two realizations in ch80.
1- He lost his brother who in turn lost himself as well, because he was too weak and dependant on him. He threw the burden of dealing with Momoshiki on Kawaki, allowing him to be a brother killer which drove Kawaki insane.
It was too much to ask, after all it's Kawaki who's going to have to kill/stop him again in the future which Boruto realized it was meant to happen if he didn't do something.
Despite Boruto's initial confidence of being in control, Momoshiki took over anyways and he almost lost to him completely if Sasuke didn't save him.
It was like a reality-check for him.
2- If he wants to live, he needs to deal with his own problem. Get stronger and rectify things himself for a change. Otherwise he could just die and end it all, or continue to burden Kawaki and the others which did nobody any good.
From the angle Boruto sees this whole situation, he lost nothing except Kawaki.
So the cheerful mindset that always naively over-simplified dire situations as big missions, refuses to see the current situation as anything but a setback.
Because he experienced loss this time, his brother, and he couldn't accept that.