Naruto’s Other Son is Destined to Kill Him – Theory Explained

Warning: Contains minor spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

It’s rare for sequel manga to start off as boldly as Boruto: NarutoNext Generations. Rather than beginning with a recap of what went on before, or an introduction of what to expect going forward, it immediately jumps to a situation that is as shocking as it is confusing. It poses a fundamental question that infects the remainder of the story; is Kawaki destined to kill his adopted father?

First, there is the question of whether Naruto, the Seventh Hokage and central character of the prior series Naruto, is dead at all. This question is dropped at the very beginning of Boruto‘s first chapter when Kawaki says, “I’ll send you where I sent the Seventh Hokage.” Kawaki makes this statement to Naruto’s biological son Boruto. Based on Boruto’s response, whatever Kawaki did to the Seventh Hokage was not pleasant. The possibility that Kawaki was the person to end Naruto’s life spawned a range of theories as to how it might have come about. To understand the theory, some background is necessary.

In Naruto, Kaguya Otsutsuki was revealed as the ultimate villain directly or indirectly behind much of the series’ conflict. It is also revealed that she originally came to Earth with a partner, Isshiki Otsutsuki. Their goal was to cultivate a God Tree through the sacrifice of one’s life. Isshiki was deemed the one who would remain, while Kaguya would be the sacrifice to allow the God Tree to produce the chakra energy its clan desired. However, Kaguya double-crossed Isshiki and left him for dead. However, he did not die. Just before his soul permanently passed into the afterworld, Isshiki transferred his soul into a passing monk named Jigen by tattooing a magical icon, known as a kama onto Jigen’s hand.

Subsequently, while Jigen survived, his mind was essentially possessed by Isshiki. With a new host, Isshiki went underground and secretly plotted to achieve his original mission, namely the cultivation of a God Tree. Since Kaguya was no longer present, he planned to sacrifice himself for the tree, such that later arriving Otsutsuki might benefit. Over time, Isshiki realized that Jigen’s body was not strong enough to produce, in sacrifice, the most wholesome chakra fruit. So, he decided to find a new host. After some experimentation, Jigen found Kawaki, who proved to be exactly what Isshiki needed to be successful. Kawaki was then tattooed with a kama similar to the one Jigen had to start the process of transferring Isshiki’s soul to Kawaki.

However, Isshiki was killed before fully transferring into Kawaki. Initially, this was thought to end the threat of Isshiki’s return via Kawaki. However, it was later discovered that Kawaki could access Isshiki’s power and abilities after he died without Isshiki’s control. Accordingly, on the one hand, there is the possibility that through the kama, Isshiki was still able to retain some control which he eventual used to take over Kawaki’s body and use to kill Naruto. On the other hand, there is the possibility that having access to Isshiki’s substantial power, Kawaki believed he was the only true power in the village. This would have brought on a response from Naruto as Hokage. In either case, Naruto was defeated, according to the theory, and now he is left to face Boruto. Only time will tell whether these theories are true, or just idle speculation.

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Marcel Green
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Marcel Green is a comics news writer for Screen Rant. A lifelong comic fan who originally was a “Marvel Only” collector, he has matured into an “independent” fan of all things comics, manga, cartoon, and anime. Happy to finally be able to put all those hours reading comics over the years to good use.

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