Boruto Episode 216

Versus Isshiki (Again)

It’s only been 12 episodes since the last time Naruto and Sasuke were defeated by Isshiki, but they’re ready to do it again in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 126. And, as I predicted, the fight didn’t exactly go Naruto and Sasuke’s way this time either.

You may recall from last week’s review that I said Naruto and Sasuke need to be removed from the picture in order for Boruto and Kawaki to shine. If Naruto and Sasuke take down Isshiki, that basically invalidates Boruto and Kawaki as the protagonists of this series.

However, I did make a mistake with part of my prediction. I said that Kawaki was going to join the fight after waking up. When I said that, I forgot that since Kawaki doesn’t have his Karma anymore, he can’t use teleportation jutsu.

Now, in the current OP, we see Boruto and Kawaki standing over who we assume to be Naruto within the alternate dimension. That seems to imply that Kawaki will make it there. But, the majority of the Boruto OPs don’t actually show things that come to pass in the series.

So, I think it’s much more likely that we do get a scene like that, but that it doesn’t take place in the alternate dimension. After the fight, Boruto, Sasuke, and Naruto will probably return to the Leaf Village and that’s when we’ll get this scene.

It’s also interesting that Naruto and Sasuke decided not to go all out against Isshiki this time around despite being in another dimension where they theoretically could. The fact that Boruto is there is probably one reason why this is the case.

Boruto is Tree Fertilizer

There are a few things I don’t really understand from episode 216. The first is that it’s now revealed that an Ōtsutsuki needs to be sacrificed to the Ten-Tails for it to turn into a chakra tree.

The problem with that revelation is that there have been three chakra trees throughout the Naruto franchise, and not one of them required an Ōtsutsuki to be sacrificed. So what’s up with this random prerequisite now?

Kaguya created the first chakra tree on the planet without sacrificing an Ōtsutsuki. Obito and Madara created the second, also without sacrificing an Ōtsutsuki. And Viktor and Deepa created the third, you guessed it, without sacrificing an Ōtsutsuki.

I wonder how those previous chakra trees are going to be explained away. But, more likely, only the first one that Kaguya created is going to be explained (retconned) and the other two are going to be swept under the rug.

Anyway, now that it’s been arbitrarily decided that an Ōtsutsuki needs to be sacrificed in order for a chakra tree to grow, the importance of Boruto’s Karma is revealed. Isshiki wants to sacrifice Boruto once he awakens as a full Ōtsutsuki (Momoshiki).

This also seems to imply that Isshiki is above Momoshiki in standing since Momoshiki is the one going to be sacrificed. Just as Kinshiki sacrificed himself for Momoshiki, and as Kaguya was supposed to sacrifice herself for Isshiki.

We also learned from Amado that the original purpose of Karma was to lessen the impact of these necessary sacrifices. Sacrificing yourself doesn’t really matter if you already have a suitable vessel in place for your resurrection.

This means that Isshiki was originally planning to resurrect using Kawaki, and then was going to have to seek out another suitable vessel before he could sacrifice himself to create the chakra tree.

Naruto’s Last Stand

Although I think Naruto needs to be removed for Boruto and Kawaki to fully take over as the protagonists, and Kurama has stated that their final attack will be Naruto’s last, I don’t think Naruto is going to die.

There are other ways to remove Naruto without killing him. And since he’s the face of the franchise, killing him would be a bit extreme. Instead, Naruto needs to get a huge nerf to his power — and the removal of the tailed beasts from within him is one way to accomplish that.

Obviously, Kurama is inside Naruto. But, something you may have forgotten is that Naruto actually has parts of all of the tailed-beasts inside of him. That’s why he can use the Lava, Magnet, and Boil Release kekkei genkai.

We also know that Isshiki is going to want the immense chakra of the tailed-beasts that reside within Naruto. So, if Isshiki were to remove those tailed-beasts, that would be a huge nerf to Naruto, putting him on par with many of the other strong, but not overpowered jonin.

Oh, and if you’re wondering how Sasuke could be nerfed, literally just have Isshiki steal his Rinnegan.

Alternatively, we could see a Might Guy situation with Naruto. This form (which looks a lot like a Nine-Tailed Sage Mode) is supposed to be his “final” form before he dies. The same was true for Guy when he used the Eighth Gate of Death against Madara Uchiha — but he was saved by Naruto using Kurama’s chakra.

So, we might see that just before Naruto dies in the end, Kurama uses his chakra up to save Naruto. And, it would probably be more than just Kurama; all of the tailed-beasts within Naruto would join in.

I’m not sure which option I prefer. The latter is a more permanent nerf to Naruto. The former simply nerfs him until Isshiki is defeated (by Boruto and Kawaki) and the tailed-beasts are returned.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 216? Will Kawaki somehow get to the alternate dimension? How do you feel about the Ōtsutsuki sacrifice revelation? And, is this really going to be Naruto’s final battle? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 217 is available now.