The false narrative of Kawaki's jealousy for Boruto could be a result of Eida's Omnipotence

Modified Aug 12, 2024 20:43 GMT

The false narrative of Kawaki — Kawaki as seen in the Boruto anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

As seen at the end of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga, Kawaki's talk with Eida caused her Omnipotence to switch his places with Boruto. Since then fans have believed that Kawaki said the things he did because he was jealous of the protagonist.

However, seemingly, that's far from the truth, as Kawaki wasn't jealous of his adoptive brother but cared for him. His statements had been misinterpreted, causing fans to misunderstand Kawaki's character and inadvertently one of manga creator Masashi Kishimoto's greatest written characters.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Boruto manga.

What did Kawaki truly mean in his talk with Eida in Boruto?

Naruto Uzumaki as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Before Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki adopted Kawaki as his son, he had a biological father and an adoptive father, both of whom abused him a lot. However, all that changed after he was brought into the Uzumaki family. Unfortunately, as fate had it, Momoshiki's presence ruined it all. That's because Momoshiki was a threat to Naruto and Kawaki wanted to protect him at all costs.

The reason why fans think Kawaki was jealous of Boruto is because he could be seen telling Eida, "If only he (Boruto) was some outsider like me (Kawaki)," During this, what Kawaki was saying was that had Momoshiki's vessel been an outsider like him, the Hidden Leaf Village might have executed him by now. But because the vessel was the protagonist, the Hokage's son, people had a tough time getting rid of him.

Kawaki and Eida as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Given that no citizen of the Hidden Leaf Village would execute the Hokage's son, Kawaki was forced to take on the role and get rid of the greater threat. Unfortunately, the talk was misinterpreted by fans, as they thought that Kawaki was jealous of his adoptive brother and wished to take his position.

However, the switch itself was something uncontrollable. While there's a chance that Eida's Omnipotence switched their places because Eida herself misinterpreted what Kawaki said; as explained by the manga, the cyborg had no control over her Shinjutsu.

Eida as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Therefore, when Kawaki wished for Boruto to be some outsider like him, the Omnipotence ability must have taken the convenient route of switching the Hokage's son and Kawaki's places, effectively making the Momoshiki vessel an outsider as Kawaki had wished for.

Kawaki never wished to be like the protagonist; in fact, he viewed him as his brother. That's also evident from how he did not wish for Himawari Uzumaki to address him as she used to for her real brother in the Two Blue Vortex manga. Unfortunately, Kawaki prioritized Momoshiki's threat to Naruto more than his feelings for his adoptive brother, and, subsequently, fans misinterpreted the conversation.

Eida and Kawaki as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Moments later, during Kawaki's talk with Eida, he could even be seen saying, "Why does it have to be him.." The fandom thought that Kawaki was asking why Boruto was Naruto's son and not him. But, in reality, what he questioned was why the protagonist ended up being Momoshiki's vessel.

Due to such misinterpretations caused due to Kawaki's panic talk with Eida, the cyborg's Shinjutsu manifested the switch between Kawaki and Boruto. That not only led to fans misunderstanding Kawaki's character but also one of Masashi Kishimoto's greatest written characters. Hopefully, fans will soon understand the true meaning behind Kawaki's words.