What can I say here……. that would ever make you understand……. how much I’m loving this story right now? Like; I………… I’m LOVING this series right now. I can’t put into words what it is, but something has happened to where THIS is a series I look forward to MORE than a chapter of Dragon Ball Super. And I would choose to watch all of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z- Movies, Filler, OVAs, and ALL OF THAT- over watching Naruto. In fact, I think it’s time that I admit something to you all(not knowing if I ever admitted this to you already or not): I have never watched the end of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. Ever in my life. I have read the entirety of Naruto(give or take a few volumes; the library at my high school didn’t have ever single volume by the time I got there), and seen the endings of Both Parts, but………. never the animes. 

I try watching Naruto on Netflix every few years, but I always stop watching midway through the filler arc directly following Sasuke leaving the village. And “Naruto Shippuden” is just annoying to watch; it’s so slow paced, and it’s a filler arc every 3 EPSIODES. LITERALLY EVERY 3 EPSIODES based on what I saw on the Filler guide I used back when I tried to watch it some years ago!! I think I got up to where Sakura was trying to stand next to Naruto and Sasuke with their summonings and……. just never got back in. ‘Cause the VERY NEXT EPISODE- after having to skip like 30 episodes- was a 5 or 6 episode filler arc. No. Simply No. I know what happens, but……… I ain’t interested in watching the anime until they give it a “Kai.” I know Dragon Ball Z Kai wasn’t everyone’s favorite, but it cut down to the ACTUAL stuff and made getting through the series quicker. Naruto needs that; Bleach needs that; One Piece could use it but it would still be over a thousand-some-odd episodes. They could have used the Cover serials for the in between stuff, but numbers and money speak louder than vocal fans. 

Same with the “Boruto” anime: I tried watching it, but I’ve never gotten passed the beginning of that one off arc with the Daimyou’s kid- Konohamaru Take #2. That’s what I call em; he’s about as interesting and has as much potential. Which ain’t sayin’ much. Maybe the “Boruto” sequel will have Tento(that’s his name that I just looked up) do something more than what Konohamaru has done. I have a lot of extra time on my hands right now to make this opener, that’s why it’s so long. Should REALLY get back to that “Owl House” review before I lose all my momentum. Let’s get this started; Boruto- Naruto Next Generations Chapter 80: “What Dad Would Do!” Let’s begin………

Overview

Picking up from the last chapter: Eida’s Omnipotence Shinjutsu allowed her to grant Kawaki’s wish, altering the memories of everyone in the world(aside from Sarada and Sumire) to think that Kawaki was Naruto’s biological son and Boruto the outsider who’s seemingly killed the Seventh Hokage!! Shikamaru wants to confirm what he just heard, and Kawaki has Eida confirm it. Over with Sarada; she can’t understand why Mitsuki is trying to hard to kill Boruto, but he tells her to let him go and finish this. Then Shikamaru telepathically tells everyone Boruto Has Killed Naruto. Sumire and Sarada are drawn a blank on what the h#ll is going on, but they know that Boruto has just been marked for Death as the “Hokage Killing Ohtsusuki.” And that’s what Kawaki wants: Boruto’s now Village Enemy #1; no one’s gonna stop him from ending Boruto and Code. And Naruto and Hinata won’t be coming back until the deed is done………..

Daemon comes to make sure nothing “weird” happened to his sister, but Kawaki threatens to kill him, too, if he doesn’t back off. Man, I would love to see you try, Kawaki. Back with Sarada; she’s found by Sasuke, who’s also been affected by Omnipotence and is planning to stop Boruto before he can leave the Village. Before Sarada can react, Sumire gets in contact with her and informs her that something has happened- something involving Eida, thus explaining why they’re the only one’s not thinking the same way as everyone else. And because of that- they may be the only people who can help Boruto right now. 

Hearing the situation; Sarada becomes so overwhelmed with emotion that………. she awakens to The Mangekyo Sharingan. Seeing this, Sasuke knows that the situation is serious, and hears her out. She PLEADS with her father to save Boruto- to grant her this “sole selfish wish” and help him when no one else can. His answer………… Meanwhile; Boruto is caught by the new InoShikaChou trio, who all feel betrayed by “Boruto’s” actions. Momoshiki takes this chance to try and get Boruto to give into his despair and give him control. And it almost takes- when SASUKE comes in and save him, taking him outside of the Village. They are Unknowingly being followed by Eida and Daemon……….

While they have this chance to rest outside of the village, Sasuke starts to see some dots that aren’t lining up- the headband he gave Kawaki; the presence of Momoshiki; the presence in his head trying to silence his doubts; and his daughter. He decides that- if he can’t trust his head right now- he will trust her, and stand by Boruto through it all. And Momo is FREAKING OUT about it; this was his chance to swipe control, and here comes the Uchiha to ruin his plans.- AGAIN!! He tries reminding Boruto that killing Eida won’t solve anything, but………… Boruto isn’t taking. And he’s only further interrupted by the arrival of Eida. She arrives to do 2 things: 

1. Apologize. It may be worth nothing for what she just did, but she didn’t mean for it to end up like that- she just wanted to help Kawaki. 
2. To make up for it a little: She won’t look for them until they return to Konoha- no matter how much Kawaki and Shikamaru ask her to. 

She also admits that something similar happened when she got her “Charm,” realizing they’re the same effect. But she’s more shocked with how calm Boruto is right now. Boruto responds that it’s not that he’s “Calm-” no, he’s pretty f*ckin’ far from THAT. But rather………. he’s starting to get what Kawaki was feeling…….. and what Naruto early life was like. This feeling of the world wanting you dead; no one to turn to when everything falls apart…….. That Anxiety. And it’s just starting to p!ss him off that he acted like he ever understood anything like that before this happened. But he also starts to understand Kawaki’s “conviction-” the resolve he has to end this situation the best way he knows how, even if it meant the first people to ever treat him like a living being ended up hating him for it. Which is why he’s not gonna let this end as “Brother Killing Brother;” he’s gonna get stronger, and keep this as just a “Sibling Quarrel.” ‘Cause that’s what his dad would do.

He tells Momoshiki that he hasn’t everything just yet: He’s still got the blood of the 4th and 7th Hokage and the Hyuga clan- and the “Will Of Fire” as a Leaf Shinobi. He asks Eida to tell Sarada that he’ll be back and to not worry. She doesn;t like being treated as an “Errand Boy,” but she stole his life and gave it to someone else just for **** so this is the very LEAST that she can do. As for Daemon, he demands Boruto become strong enough to give him a Real fight, but Boruto doesn’t think there’s time for all that. But even so- with Kawaki, Code(thus confirming that he was hit with Omnipotence), and the World as his enemy- He’s Gonna Make Them Remember The Name: 

Boruto Uzumaki!!

Boruto- Naruto Next Generations Chapter 80 END!! Boruto- Naruto Next Generations Will be On Hiatus Until September. That’s a WHOLE lot of planning time. I’m already anticipating the Time skip to have a better start than Part 1; hopefully Kawaki doesn’t become a little sh!t like Boruto was at the start. THAT would be Tragic………

REVIEW

I had a…….. WHOLE THING done already, but the longer it went on; the less and less I liked what I said- even though I knew what I wanted to say. It just didn’t “come out” quite right. I have a lot of my ideas written down, anyway, so I just re-did this part. I actually also re-did the “Overview” section, too. I think I was in such a hurry to say what I wanted that I just kind of “rushed” everything and it ended up coming out like cr@p. So let’s try this again. Starting with what I had originally said: “Boruto- Naruto Next Generations” is one of the Better Series I’m Talking About Right Now. One Piece is in the midst of its BEST arc since the Time Skip; Four Knights will begin a new arc in chapter 103; Edens Zero just introduced its Final Villain; Black Clover just got the ball rolling with its Judgement Day; My Hero……….; Dragon Ball Super…….; and Chainsaw Man is doing fine right now. And then you have this- a series that- right now– is scratching the same “itch” that My Villain Academia did, way back when. 

That was the first Full Arc That I Ever Reviewed in my time as a blogger. And back when it was running, it was……… That was a large part of why I fell so hard for that series. Then the series got bad post Paranormal Liberation War and…….. the whole series has just felt……… the whole thing just feels tainted by what’s going on. The anime that the world fell in love with………. feels so hollow to me now; like Horikoshi just doesn’t care anymore and just wants this to be done(much like the fans). In come “Boruto” with its recent developments, giving me the same vibes as what made me love My Hero in the first place- what makes me like One Piece. And that comes down to what’s going on with Boruto himself. 

In my notes, I wrote down a short little anecdote to be begin the first topic of discussion. And it goes back to my Favorite Opening of Fairy Tail- the BEST opening I’ve heard in my course of trying to watch that series: Strike Back by BACK-ON. In that song, there’s a line- something translated by many a cover artist that has a different wording each time, but comes across because of the message of the song. My favorite rendition of the line comes from Natewantstobattle and ShueTube: “Defy The World To Make You Smile.” The song is all about defying fate so that you can keep living on with those you cherish most. This song came to mind when reading this chapter. It’s seriously a banger; watch any rendition of it when you get a chance. 

But this song came to mind because that’s basically what Boruto is doing right now: In a world that wants to kill him for a crime he didn’t commit- a situation created through no fault of his own; Boruto is choosing to stand against that world to save his parents and restore everything to what it was once- trying to keep his brother from going through with this misguided attempt of protecting their dad and stopping the Ohtsusuki from having their way. He’ll defy the world to make them smile!! I hope someone makes an AMV for Boruto after they start animating Part 2. 

Another thing that I wrote down is how Boruto is- in essence- A Villain. He’s now been framed as the one who killed the Hokage; he’s wanted by all Konoha allied nations, which- thanks to Naruto’s exploits– is ALL OF THEM; he’s……. on the run. And that excites me. It’s the same feeling that I get from following One Piece. It’s like, with a series about “Hero” types like Naruto and My Hero; the characters never get to………….. Act. They have to wait for a bunch 50 year old men to sign paper work and get clearance from “Higher Up,” or have to “sit and wait and train” to get ready for a fight only for that preparation to FAIL. With characters like Luffy, though- with people actively going against everyone; they can do what they want. And I do mean “What They Want.” They’re already wanted criminals; what do they care for everyone’s opinions? As a Video I watched long ago once said: “A Hero does what is right- Luffy does what he Wants. If he helps, then he’s hailed a “Hero;” if what he does actively hinders- he was already a wanted criminal, anyway.” Boruto is no longer restricted by paperwork and sitting around waiting to get put on a mission; he can act whenever he d@mn well FEELS like it. 

As the “Villain,” Boruto is put in a position in which he’s holding all the “initiative” in the story; the story moves on his time table now. And with Eida vowing not to look for him, he’s left in a position where NOTHINGS gonna happen until HE decides he’s ready to face Kawaki, who’s gotta go through the “proper channels” before he’s allowed to search for Boruto and Code. He’s put himself on the backfoot with this wish- in more ways than one, now that I think about it. ‘Cause now he has to hide the abilities that put him over Boruto; he can’t show off his Organic Ninja tools, and he can’t show off Isshiki’s abilities- less he raise suspicion about the true nature of what’s going on. Meanwhile Boruto– TRYING to make people remember the truth so he can gather as many allies as possible- is free to show off whatever he learns during this time skip, INCLUDING abilities he may learn to harness from Momoshiki’s Karma mark. Can Kawaki match Boruto without his ninja tools and Isshiki’s powers? ‘Cause without Naruto and Sasuke to train him………. who does he really have to learn from in the Village right now? Kakashi and Tsunade are around some fre@kin’ where, but other than them there isn’t really anyone else. And I don’t think they know anything that would help against an Ohtsusuki. Then again, Sakura learned that physical strength from Tsunade, so…….. eh. 

Something else I wrote down pertains to something else we learn in this chapter. Code was affected by Omnipotence. So all that speculation on Boruto and Code allying and fighting Kawaki together- out the f*ckin’ window. All he has in the world are Sarada and Sumire, who can’t interact with him or help him in any direct way; Sasuke who’s doubting the whole situation and is only helping him on Sarada’s plea; and that “Devil Over His Shoulder-” Momoshiki. Let’s look at the facts: 

1. The Age Of “Nostalgia.” Reboots and revivals over here in the west; a somewhat-soulless revival of THE Shonen Battle manga that just rehashes a lot of the same story beats that made us love the original. “Boruto” has more or less been its own thing so far, but………  more or less the same situation Naruto and Kurama found themselves in. The monster who attacked the village sealed in a little boy, making him the most hated person in the whole village; the monster who killed the Hokage- vessel of a creature out to destroy the world. 
2. Neither of them are willing to admit or acknowledge it, but- they’re the people closest to each other right now. Like- LITERALLY. If Boruto’s body gives out, then……. they’re BOTH dead. Momoshiki might want want Boruto to take a permanent nap, and Boruto wishes the same of Momo. But if they’re going to survive this to hash out their issues, then…….. They’re gonna need to start “Playing Nice.” 

That being said; I don’t want Momo to become your same old “Inner Demon” story. Mostly because Boruto pretty much HAS all of Momo’s power; the Karma’s “data dump” nature allows Boruto to fight as if he’s lives a THOUSAND lives and seen a thousand battles; he pretty much has Momo’s chakra reserves; he can absorb jutsu just like Momo- in the same way that Kawaki is basically Isshiki; Boruto is effectively Momoshiki. Momo can’t be a “Power Battery” like the others; probably most of what he’ll be doing is “advice-” “Wisdom From The One Who’s Lived A Thousand Lives.” But……… Boruto would NEVER take Momo at his word. Likewise, if it were up to Boruto; Momo would never see the light of day again- he’d be relegated to that same dark corner that he tried to force Boruto into. But now- with their ally pool and resources so limited– Do they have choice? 

But back to what I was saying: I don’t necessarily want Momo to be like Kurama or Liebe. But he doesn’t have to be an active hinderance and liability like Sukuna- mostly because of what I said earlier. With Sukuna; he’s just have to wait for someone else to eat another finger and incarnate in another vessel- it doesn’t need to be Yuji. But Momo’s stuck with Boruto. What I want is for them to form a truce- one to where Momo can get a new body and Boruto is free of Momo’s presence. Then again, from now on; any incarnation of Momoshiki- even on another vessel- will likely end up being Boruto due to the nature of what’s happened to his “data.” He had to use that last 20%- the percent that would reconstruct his regular body- to revive Boruto. Wait, but that would mean that he’d only 80% incarnate in someone else, right? Or does the “data” “reconstruct” when he makes another Karma? Let me think……

Amado tells us in chapter 47 that when an Ohtsusuki finishes reincarnating in a vessel, all other vessels will lose their Karma. But he’s finished his incarnation in Boruto’s body prematurely. So……… I think “Borushiki” is gonna be Momo’s new “default” going forward, even if he ends up incarnating in a new vessel. Not that I think he’ll be the one to incarnate himself with another Karma; I still believe that theory that Boruto will use Code as a Vessel to incarnate, and leave this body to Momo. He’ll take out Code and gain more power to fight Momo in one fell swoop. But that’ll leave Boruto’s original body to Momo, meaning…….. Oh, yeah; he’s gonna be stuck as Borushiki. Why was that so hard to figure out? 

………….. Inner Demon, right. I think they need to work together right now- at least until they can be free of each other. Because this situation isn’t ideal for either of them. Momoshiki doesn’t want to die, and Boruto doesn’t want his body jacked, either. But if one goes before either is able to use a Karma to reincarnate, then……… that’s all for the both of them. Boruto will only ever reincarnate with karma the one time, but Momo’s implied to have done it a few times. They need a truce is what I’m saying. Momo can even show Boruto had to make a Karma mark- if the “data” dump didn’t upload that knowledge directly. Then again that makes Momoshiki effectively narratively useless; he really would just be there to be the “Devil over his shoulder-” not even functioning as a Power Battery. He’s here as more than just a mark on Boruto’s hand for a reason……….

The last 2 things I wanted to talk about pertain to Boruto and Momoshiki’s similar determination to towards their goals and Kawaki’s sense of “Justice.” Starting with Kawaki; it seems like he’s willing to become the “Necessary Evil” required to go through with this. Like……… he recognizes the problem. He knows that he will never be forgiven, and it’s not as if he wants to kill Boruto- he was the one who suggested he put a Karma mark on Code in the first place. But after seeing how Boruto lost control that night, and how close Momoshiki came to ending Naruto- seeing how Boruto was in the prime position to plant his own Karma on Code and didn’t; I guess he just……. lost faith in that idea. He saw that Boruto- strong as he was- still succumbed to Momoshiki. So……. he doesn’t want to take those chances anymore. I also think in some way he’s also trying to save Boruto; trying to save him from that anxiety of having his body taken from him. 

As someone pointed out on Twitter; Boruto does have the “luxury” of letting himself feel sad right now. If he wavers for a minute- Momoshiki will grab the wheel from him. He’s gotta keep strong to keep Momoshiki at bay. And that……… keeping that “Stone Face” for all this time………….. probably most assuredly takes its toll. And I guess Kawaki is also trying to save Boruto from that pain. And to that end, he’s willign to become a “Brother Killer” so that Naruto won’t have to- so that Sasuke won’t have to- so that no one else will have to take the blame. HE’S the “Outsider;” from his perspective, no one will bat an eye when he dies. So he has to become the “Necessary Evil” that’ll go through with it when the time is right- and take whatever punishment comes his way. That’s what I’m seeing anyway. 

And Momo and Boruto’s similar determination. Just as Boruto is determined to keep Momoshiki at bay; Momo wants his freedom. ‘Cause he doesn’t want to be in this situation anymore than Boruto. At this point, he’s probably regretting putting the mark on Boruto over anyone else. If it was gonna be this much trouble; I think he might have chosen death over anything. And- going along with their alliance idea- I think Boruto will recognize just how much Momo hates their current situation, and realize “Okay- he may be trying to destroy my planet and take over my body, but………. he’s I’m pretty much keeping him prisoner here.” Which is how I think he’ll propose the idea of an alliance and learn how to make his own Karma mark. Something to that effect. 

Conclusion

Alright, I’ll admit I cr@pped out on that last bit. I knew it was a subject that I wanted to talk about, but this post had just gone on a bit too long. I didn’t even address Eida’s feeling right now; between Kawaki grabbing her like that in the beginning- something she so was not expecting– and the way Boruto isn’t holding this situation against her- acting older than he actually is right now- I’m starting to get the sense that her feelings are swaying towards Boruto. Naruto only had the 1 fan girl and someone who depended on him in Sakura; Boruto’s got 3. I’m sure he’ll hold THAT over Naruto’s head if he ever finds out. 

But other than that- This was a pretty good post. Why oh why does this series have to go on Hiatus? This is a chance to plan out the second half of the series, just like Tabata had to plan out the Finale Saga of Black Clover. And it might be a chance for Ikemoto to work on his art work. The manga has gotten better since chapter 1- way, WAY Better. Or hey; maybe they can bring on Akira Okubo from Kishimoto’s cancelled “Samurai 8” manga? Say what you will about that series(I blame the Editor for a lot of it), but…….. Okubo’s art was something incredible. Who knows how good it would have looked if it was allowed to continue! Since Kishimoto has seemingly come back to write “Boruto(he’s still listed as “Supervisor” despite beeing brought on to right roughly 2 years ago)“ following Ukyo Kodachi’s firing(he was fired for his behavior behind the scenes); maybe he can put in a good word and bring him on to do the art for rest of the series. Maybe he and Ikemoto can be Co-Artist or something. 

That’s all I got for the lot of you today, boys and girls. Let me know what you all think of the chapter. I’m sure these months are gonna fly by. Until then- Have A Magically Wonderful Day. Later!!