Boruto: Two Blue Vortex’s Divine Trees may be inspired from Black Clover in a way most people miss

Modified Aug 21, 2024 21:55 GMT

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex’s Divine Trees may be inspired from Black Clover in a way most people miss — Jura and Lucius Zogratis as seen in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex and Black Clover (Image via Shueisha)

Ever since Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga began serialization, Boruto fans have been left elated. This is because they had been waiting for the time skip since the start of the Naruto Next Generations manga series, which began serialization in 2016. Therefore, each of its chapters hype up the fans, seeing them theorize about them for countless days.

However, such hype around the series also leads to discourse within different fanbases as a good section of fans try to paint manga author Masashi Kishimoto as the most creative manga creator. In response, fans point out different manga that inspired the developments in Naruto in the early days.

Surprisingly, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga isn't safe from accusations as well as the manga may have derived the concept of Divine Trees from Black Clover's Paladins.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Boruto: Two Blue Vortex and Black Clover manga.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex: How Divine Trees may have been inspired by Paladins

Lucius Zogratis as seen in the Black Clover manga (Image via Shueisha)

As fans might remember, Yuki Tabata introduced the concept of Paladins in Black Clover manga in August 2022. Lucius Zogratis used his Soul Magic to purify devils and their powers, and incarnated those devils in humans, transforming them into archangels, also known as Paladins.

For this, Lucius did not have to rely on living people but could also turn deceased humans into Paladins. Moreover, the manga saw Lucius not only turn good people into paladins but also former antagonists. As for personalities, the Paladins did not retain their human nature entirely as their beliefs were overridden by Lucius, forcing them to act as per his wishes.

Paladin Acier Silva as seen in the Black Clover manga (Image via Shueisha)

Moreover, on Judgement Day, the Paladins did not fight every Magic Knight in sight but only the ones their human form once had a connection with or their current form was interested in. This was evident from how Morgen Faust targeted Yami Sukehiro and Jack the Ripper, Acier Silva targeted her children, and Morris Libardirt targeted Mereoleona Vermillion.

So, in hindsight, Paladins were antagonists that could be based on any character that appeared in the series. Their personalities were different from their human side and targeted people who interested them.

Divine Trees as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

A year later in August 2023, Masashi Kishimoto and Mikio Ikemoto started serializing the Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga that featured the Divine Trees. The Divine Trees were antagonists that could be based on any character from the series.

If the character was alive, they needed to be bitten by Claw Grime. As for deceased characters, while the explanation for them hasn't been given yet, Jura's monologue from chapter 4 suggested that he could be based on a previously deceased character. Even fans theorized that Jura was either based on Isshiki Otsutsuki or Jigen.

Jura as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Additionally, similar to the Paladins, the Divine Trees did not retain their original human personality but did target people who were related to them previously. This was evident from Hidari targeting Sarada, Matsuri targeting Konohamaru, and Mamushi targeting Eida.

Following the developments in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 13, fans could argue that the plotline surrounding Divine Trees had been planned from the start of the Naruto Next Generations manga itself. However, those developments are also not safe from accusations of being inspired from elsewhere.

Kashin Koji as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

This is because Kashin Koji's Prescience ability was nothing new and was most popularly seen being used by Dr. Strange from Avengers: Endgame as he looked at all possible futures to find a way to defeat Thanos. If speaking of manga, in Black Clover itself, Lucius Zogratis used Time Magic to foresee multiple timelines, allowing him to choose the best route suited to his plans.

Therefore, with the latest developments in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga, Masashi Kishimoto fans might have another manga to safeguard from accusations against other fanbases.