Boruto Two Blue Vortex: Why Kishimoto sidelining Kawaki was crucial to the plot, explored

Boruto Two Blue Vortex has progressed considerably, and fans are happy with the art as well as the writing. The story progression has been at its best in the series, and it’s safe to say that this is one of the most, if not the most exciting arcs in the series.

The reason why events post-time-skip were incredibly anticipated was due to Kawaki and Boruto’s involvement. It has been revealed that all characters have gotten considerably stronger, especially the likes of Boruto, Sarada, and Kawaki. It was shown at the very beginning that Kawaki and his former best friend would face off.

With that in mind, fans expected Kawaki to receive a lot more screen time. In the 6 chapters that have been released so far, Kawaki has been sidelined and barely contributed to the plot. This article will try and understand the potential reasons for Kawaki being sidelined by Masashi Kishimoto in the Boruto Two Blue Vortex series.

Disclaimer: This article explores possibilities for Kawaki’s lack of involvement in the series, and is therefore speculative.

DisclaimeThis article also contains massive spoilers from the Boruto Two Blue Vortex manga chapters.

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Boruto Two Blue Vortex: Potential reasons for Kawaki being sidelined

Boruto and Kawaki as seen in the Two Blue Vortex manga (Image via Shueisha/Masashi Kishimoto and Mikio Ikemoto)

The first time where Kawaki could have gotten screen time was when Boruto entered Konohagakure. Just when things got heated, he fled the scene. Before the series could even give Kawaki more screen time, Kishimoto introduced a new set of villains, all thanks to Code’s efforts.

The Ten-Tail clones that he got his hands on, sealed certain shinobis and gained consciousness. These clones identified themselves as the Divine Tree and picked their targets based on their instincts.

Aside from Kawaki, Boruto now has to deal with these new foes who aim to kill people who are close to them. This was a good move because it would create a sense of anticipation before the final showdown between Boruto and Kawaki. Introducing the very fight that was shown in chapter 1, this early wouldn’t be the best move from a writer’s standpoint.

Divine Tree as seen in the Boruto Two Blue Vortex manga series (Image via Shueisha)

Aside from anticipation, there are some loose ends that need to be fixed before Boruto Two Blue Vortex can get to the Boruto vs Kawaki fight. Eida’s stunt in the concluding chapters of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations caused a lot of problems.

Her Omnipotence altered the memories of everyone in the village, and she swapped Kawaki and Boruto’s roles. The entire village is now hunting down Boruto and they blame him for the apparent death of the Seventh Hokage.

The latest chapter highlighted Shikamaru Nara’s incredible intelligence once again since he realized that his memories were altered. He also came to the conclusion that Boruto and Kawaki’s roles being switched is the only scenario that coincides with all the events that have taken place all these years. It is clear that Masashi Kishimoto intends to fix this particular section of the Boruto Two Blue Vortex before giving Kawaki some more screen time.

Shikamaru takes Ino's help as he realizes that his memories have been altered (Image via Shueisha)

In the upcoming chapter, it is highly possible that the focus will be on Shikamaru once again. This time, however, he could potentially focus on helping other members of the village realize that their memories have been altered. Doing this would be quite beneficial since the village elders who ordered Boruto’s execution will also revoke the order.

Once this is fixed, the manga could potentially bring its focus on the new villains (Divine Tree) who wish to kill Sarada Uchiha, Konohamaru Sarutobi, Naruto Uzumaki, and Eida. These are some of the reasons why Masashi Kishimoto most likely sidelined Kawaki at the moment. It’s highly likely that things will stay this way for Kawaki for a couple of chapters at the very least.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2024 progresses.