Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Has the student surpassed the master? Has a new generation of ninja cropped up to sweep out the formerly most powerful? Now that Naruto has become stronger than Minato, will Boruto, in turn, become stronger than his dear old dad? Let’s break it down.
What’s up with Boruto?
Boruto is the son of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, two of the most powerful shinobi the Lead Village has ever produced. Naruto is the reincarnation of one of two ancient and powerful ninjas, the son of Ninja Jesus, i.e. the Sage of the Six Paths, Asura. Hinata comes from the main family branch of the Hyuga clan, who can trace their lineage back to the Otsotsuki, basically space-traveling ninja alien gods from beyond the stars. With that kind of genetics, their kid is bound to be one of the greatest, if not the all-time greatest.
That’s a fair estimate.
Like him or not (for most it’s the latter) Boruto is well on his way to becoming the strongest ninja the Naruto universe has ever produced. At age twelve, Boruto showed more aptitude for the rigors of shinobi life than his mother and father did at the same age. Unlike his late-bloomer parents, Boruto excels in his shinobi training from early on. This is because his mentor is the best ninja in history! Naruto Uzumake is arguably the strongest ninja the world has ever produced (Hashirama Senju could also be worthy of the title) and he’s the kid’s DAD. This is some straight-up ninja nepotism! It’s easy to excel when you’ve got the GOAT teaching you. And what happens when Naruto is stumped? Boruto can just waltz across town and take lessons from his uncle Sasuke, the OTHER greatest living ninja/reincarnation of Sage of the Six path’s OTHER son Indra. It’s like being taught basketball by Michael Jordan and Lebron James, and one of them is your FATHER.
And after the time skip? Forget about it. Boruto essentially becomes a full-fledged shinobi in just three short years. Boruto expanded upon the Rasengan, a technique created by Yellow Flash Minato and perfected by his son Naruto, to create the Rasengan Uzuhiko. What’s the Rasengan Uzuhiko? Okay, remember how the Rasengan is created by gathering your chakra in the palm of your hand and making it spin around? Rather than localizing it in your palm, the Rasengan Uzuhiko lets the user swirl their chakra around their entire body. Once their mitts come in contact with the enemy, the user can strike their enemy with the rotational force of the planet itself. Aside from a planet-powered punch, this technique also causes the victim to suffer horrible dizziness and vertigo as an after-effect, which gets worse the more times the Rasengan Uzuhiko is used against them. This technique is downright unfair. Couple that with Boruto’s main character’s tailor-made eye jutsu, the Jogan, and you’ve got the recipe for the baddest ninja in history.
But wait … what happened to Naruto?
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura have proven themselves to have Sannin-surpassing skills in Boruto, going toe to toe with the most powerful beings in existence—the Otsutsuki. For the majority of the series, Naruto’s friends were doing the brunt of the ninja heavy lifting. As an adult, Naruto is in his prime. He’s had years of experience as a ninja, and his power levels have only increased since his universe-breaking battle with Sasuke Uchiha at the end of Shippuden. His bond with his strongest asset—the Nine-Tailed Fox Kurama—has only strengthened. Naruto can utilize a new chakra state called “Baryon Mode” which takes his already broken levels of power to new heights. In a process similar to nuclear fusion (the thing that happens inside stars), Naruto and Kurama’s chakra reserves are combined to form a new kind of plot armor. Baryon Mode increases Naruto’s strength and speed to ludicrous levels and even allows him to drain the life force of his opponents.
But it has a fatal flaw …
Baryon Mode is so powerful that the longer Naruto stays in it, the more his own life force is drained. Kurama’s life force is equally drained. And you know what happens if it runs out? Somebody gonna die. And that’s exactly what happened. In a particularly nasty battle against Isshiki Otsutsuki, Naruto and Kurama are forced to push Baryon Mode to its absolute limit. Rather than see Naruto drained of his life entirely, Kurama sacrifices his last reserves of chakra to allow Naruto to continue fighting, defeating their foe at the cost of Kurama’s life. Kurama disappears, leaving Naruto a physical and emotional husk of his former self. A more pyrrhic victory there never was. And who can take the broken ninja’s place as the most powerful? His son Boruto, that’s who.
(featured image: Pierrot)
