Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is the continuation of Naruto, and it follows the journey of Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto’s son who is studying at the ninja academy. This show starts after Naruto’s journey to become Hokage. In Boruto, Naruto has managed to defeat Madara and has become Hokage of Konoha, settling down with Hinata and having two children, Himawari and Boruto.
In the first episode, Boruto is about to engage in battle with an adversary known as Kawaki. Nothing is known about this adversary except that he wants to do away with the shinobi. Since then, Boruto has engaged in several battles with multiple adversaries, and he’s successfully been able to defeat them by using his chakra, his jitsus, and the dojutsu that is concealed in his right eye known as Jogan. Of course, given the overarching connections to the original Naruto series, fans have been creating theories that bridge the two together in more fulfilling ways.
Avid fans have been theory crafting about Boruto’s various intricacies since before the anime debuted, and some may get a kick out of going back and seeing what ideas Naruto fans were cooking up half a decade ago and where they went right and wrong.
Kawaki Is The Reincarnation of Madara
Many fans have speculated that Kawaki is the reincarnation of Madara. Madara did want peace in his world, and, though he didn’t go about this in the most heroic way, it was ultimately his plan. During his quest, Madara proved himself adept at coming back from the grace—from rewriting his demise to reviving himself—so this one isn’t so farfetched. After all, Momoshiki made it extremely clear to Boruto that his dojutsu would be his undoing, if his dojutsu consists of chakra in and of itself, then Kawaki’s wanting to destroy Boruto makes all the more sense.
Meanwhile, Madara saw the destructive force of the chakra, both through his own force and through his years battling with the Uchiha Clan. Perhaps Kawaki being a reincarnation of Madara is a way for Madara to finish what he started in Naruto.
Naruto Will Pass Away At Some Point In The Series
One of the first things that Kawaki says to Boruto is “I’ll be sending you to the Seventh Hokage.” Boruto is portrayed as a character who strongly resents his father Naruto for prioritizing his job as the seventh Hokage over being a father, and this is one of the things that makes Boruto such a free-spirited student; he could care less what his father thinks about him. However, when Boruto faces-off against Kawaki, he completely changes. He is the opposite of the uncaring student he was when he first entered the ninja academy. Instead, he now resembles Naruto’s personality and spirit towards the finale of Naruto.
So, what happens to prompt this change? In many cases, such a drastic character alteration is typically marked by a major loss, and, when it involves the main character’s parent, it usually means their demise. Since fans are unaware of where Naruto is at this time, this seems highly likely.
Kawaki Is Naruto’s Biological Son
Naruto introduces Orochimaru, a student of the Third Hokage who has two major goals: he wants to know every single secret in the world, and he wants to become immortal so that he has the time to learn all of these secrets. Orochimaru is known for being able to manipulate DNA cells. Therefore, many fans have theorized that Orochimaru stole some of Naruto’s DNA and created a clone of him, which Orochimaru could then use for his own bidding.
Knowing that Orochimaru is extremely intelligent and has had similar schemes in the past, this theory seems incredibly likely. It’s established that Orochimaru would do whatever he could to fulfill his goal. Orochimaru is also aware of how strong Naruto is, and thus, if he were to make a clone of someone, Naruto seems like the likely target.
Kawaki Wants To Destroy Boruto As An Act Of Revenge Against Naruto
When Boruto and Kawaki first meet, they face off against one another at the remains of the Hokage Rock. The Hokage Rock is almost entirely destroyed, and many fans have theorized that its destruction relates to the conflict between the two warriors. Some of these fans believe that Kawaki is out to get Boruto because he seeks revenge.
Fans have speculated that Kawaki may be a survivor of the Fourth Shinobi World War. With Naruto nowhere to be seen, maybe Kawaki did away with him, and he now plans to tie up loose ends by taking down Boruto, as well. Perhaps Kawaki is the one responsible for the destruction of Konohagakure since he has stated that he plans to end the shinobi. It’s just assumed that Kawaki is a villain, but maybe he’s just an anti-hero seeking justice and believes that the way to do this is by taking Naruto and his family down.
The Shinobi Are Already Corrupted
Shinobi refers to the ninja warriors seen in Naruto and Boruto. In Boruto, Naruto has become the seventh Hokage for his village and is therefore the leader of its people and shinobi. When Boruto begins, the Hokage Rock has been destroyed. The Rock is a representation of the history of the shinobi of Konoha, as it depicts all of the Hokage who have ruled them. Therefore, many fans have connected the dots and believe that Kawaki is not just aggressive towards Boruto because of who Boruto’s father is, but because of Kawaki’s anger towards all shinobi.
Perhaps Kawaki believes the shinobi to be corrupt. After all, the attack against the Uchiha clan and all of the Shinobi Wars don’t exactly argue against this opinion. In Naruto, many shinobi warriors were corrupted. Therefore it could be argued that shinobi no longer act as the military might of each village and are no longer capable of protecting their people. Perhaps, for this reason, Kawaki wants to save his future by eliminating the shinobi once and for all.
The Markings On Boruto’s Arms Are Curse Marks
Some fans have theorized that the markings on Boruto’s arms are curse marks that determine Boruto’s power. These markings would, therefore, make him a formidable opponent. Kawaki has similar markings, and many fans have agreed that these marks likely indicate a similar power. Meanwhile, other fans have argued that this is impossible because Boruto’s mark’s strength is determined by Momoshikis, which is nowhere as strong as Naruto or Sasuke.
Assuming that Kawaki beat Naruto and Sasuke, destroyed the Seventh Hokage village, and is about to face off against Boruto, these theories could be true. Could the markings be because of a curse that determines Boruto’s strength? It’s possible; it’s unknown how the markings got there, and perhaps they’re not actually related to the one on his palm. Maybe Boruto acquired them some other way, which means that their power is not bound by Momoshiki’s strength. Other fans have theorized that these marks resemble the “strength of a thousand seals” and that this is where Boruto and Kawaki’s strength comes from, which is also plausible.
The Tailed Beasts Will Reappear
In Naruto, the main story followed Naruto learning about and befriending the Tailed Beast sealed within him. While the Nine-Tailed Fox granted Naruto with a great deal of power and enhanced his chakra, it also posed a threat, as it provided him with more power than he could control.
Ultimately, Naruto manages to understand and get to know Kurama, as well as the eight other Tailed Beasts. At the end of Naruto, the Tailed Beasts are released and allowed to freely roam the shinobi world.
So far, the Tailed Beasts have yet to appear in Boruto. However, because of the huge role that they played in Naruto, many fans believe that it is unlikely that that was the last time they would be seen. With Kara constantly looking for a way to enhance technology in order to overpower shinobi and with creatures such as the Nue appearing, some fans have even speculated that the Tailed Beasts will resurface to wreak havoc once again.
Kawaki Is From The Future Or From Another Dimension
Though space-time hasn’t been explored in great detail yet in Boruto, there is an instance when Boruto activates his Jogan and teleports himself and Sumire to an unknown dimension. Many fans believe that, if Boruto was able to do this with his Jogan, other ninja are probably able to do this in some capacity, as well.
For example, Orochimaru possesses the jitsu of the space-time continuum which allows him to time-hop. Because of this, some fans have theorized that Kawaki might have used this jitsu to escape from a post-apocalyptic era. This could explain his mission to wipe out Boruto and the remaining shinobi; perhaps he’s from a timeline in which the world was destroyed because of the shinobi. This may also add to the theory of Kawaki being created by Orochimaru. If Kawaki was created by Orochimaru, then it is likely that Kawaki also has the space-time jitsu and was thus able to escape from the future.
Kawaki Is Orochimaru’s Experiment
Many fans have speculated that Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, is either deceased or no longer in the shinobi world. If Naruto has been defeated, then perhaps Sasuke has been taken down, as well, which means that someone extremely powerful was able to defeat them. He would have to be so strong, in fact, that many fans have theorized that Kawaki must be a clone of at least one of them.
Orochimaru’s favorite pass time was examining and reforming DNA, so it would make sense that he might have mixed both Naruto and Sasuke’s DNA in order to make a super ninja who could take them both down. Kawaki does bear the physical traits of both of these warriors; he has both blonde and dark hair. Also, if Kawaki is created from their DNA, this would mean that he possesses the complete power of the Sage.
Kawaki Is Boruto And Sarata’s Son
Some fans have theorized that Kawaki is Boruto and Sarada’s son from the future. They believe that Kawaki has come back to stop Boruto and the rest of the shinobi from destroying the world. If Kawaki resembles both Naruto and Sasuke, the same can be said for Boruto and Sarada.
Boruto fans also theorize that Kawaki was able to travel to Boruto’s timeline from the future via a space-time continuum jitsu. After seeing the destruction caused by Boruto’s chakra—as Momoshki predicted—and the shinobi in his timeline, Kawaki chose to confront Boruto to end the threat of the chakra before the world in the future is destroyed for good.
Kawaki Is Just A Vessel
In the first episodes of Boruto, students begin to succumb to a dark aura/chakra that takes over their bodies. This first happens to Shino and Denki, then to a few other students. Boruo is able to see the dark aura with his right eye, and it is later revealed that the aura is caused by the Nue, a creature that can influence people’s negative emotions.
Some fans have created theories that revolve around the Nue. They believe that Kawaki, otherwise a typical ninja, had his body taken over by the Nue. If it happened to nearly the entire student body at the ninja academy, then it is likely that it could have happened to him. This also makes sense considering that one of the first things that Boruto says to Kawaki “who’d ever think you’d become this strong, Kawaki.” Some fans have theorized that both Kawaki and Boruto were past friends who had a falling out. If this is the case, the Nue could be using Kawaki’s feelings of resentment to fuel their control over him.
Boruto Is Bound To Surpass Naruto
At first, Boruto is defiant of his father’s legacy as the Seventh Hokage, and he doesn’t want to be anything like him. At the ninja academy, Boruto is known for his joking and free-spirited ways and for not taking his classes as seriously as he should.
However, as the series unfolds and the Nue makes its presence known, Boruto begins to exhibit many of the same similarities as his father, along with his own powerful chakra. Given that the story centers on Boruto, it makes sense that he will become an extremely powerful ninja in time and eventually surpass Naruto.
Chakra Could Cause The Destruction Of The Shinobi World
Though Naruto ended with the titular character and the surviving shinobi coming to grips with their chakra, this was a major problem in the series. Naruto’s inner battle with the Nine-Tailed Fox caused him and Konoha countless problems. While Naruto and Sasuke learned to control their powers, a lot of the other people harbored negative beliefs about the Tailed Beasts and Uchiha clan.
In Boruto, Boruto has his Jogan in his right eye which allows him to sense dark auras and chakra that nobody else can see. While Boruto uses both his chakra and Jogan to help his friends, he’s also utilized them to cheat and has flaunted them irresponsibly. Mimoshiki even predicted that Boruto’s eyes “would take everything from him.” Because of this, some fans have theorized that Bortuo’s untamable powers will cause the ultimate destruction of the shinobi world.
Kara’s Thirst For Knowledge Will Result In The Destruction Of The Shinobi World
In Boruto, viewers have been introduced to Kara, an organization with unknown motives. Kara has a deep interest in knowledge. They seek to understand every jitsu, as well as learn about technology that would allow them to amplify jitsu.
Kara is quite adept at creating all sorts of fighting resources, from blimps to enhanced fighting prosthetics. If Kara are able to attain this kind of technology, then they might be able to match the powers of Naruto, Sasuke, and Boruto, as well as the rest of the shinobi world. If this happens, then the Kara could cause another war and destroy the shinobi world.
Boruto’s Jogan Destroyed Naruto And Konoha
Mimoshiki tells Boruto that he is bound to lose everything because of his eyes. However, many fans have wondered how this would be possible. In Naruto, one of the biggest threats that Naruto had to face was the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him, which he was unable to control. Many fans believe that Boruto’s eye will cause similar issues and that, ultimately, Boruto will have to learn to understand and control his Jogan.
When the series begins, Boruto is about to face Kawaki in battle, and fans see Konoha destroyed. While some have speculated that this was Kawaki’s doing, others have theorized that the destruction may be caused by Boruto’s Jogan. Unknowingly, Boruto could have also easily taken out Naruto with his Jogan.
