It’s safe to say that Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has fundamentally changed the status quo set up by its predecessor. From the looming and overarching threat of the Otsutsuki Clan, the newly born God Trees, and Kawaki’s vendetta, there are many threats for Boruto to face. But today’s ally is tomorrow’s enemy, as it will only be a matter of time before the two Uzumaki come to blows for real.

Boruto’s become a living legend after the time skip, but Kawaki’s ramping up to surpass him and then some thanks to Amado. The true villain of Boruto has never been the Otsutsuki or the God Trees. The real villain, from the very start, has always been Kawaki, and he has been staring fans in the face this entire time.

There’s No Doubt About it Kawaki is Boruto’s Real Antagonist

Kawaki’s Role as an Unlikely Villain

Kawaki has been set up as Boruto’s adopted brother, turned enemy after events forced the two brothers into opposing ideologies regarding the Otsutsuki Clan. Boruto has Momoshiki Otsutsuki rolling around in his head and Kawaki wants to eradicate all traces of the Otsutsuki Clan from existence.

To say they couldn’t come to an agreement is quite an understatement, considering Kawaki sealed Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki in a parallel dimension. Plus, the entire subplot of Boruto being setup as Naruto’s killer by Kawaki and Eida, didn’t exactly help the brothers’ relationship. Ultimately, Kawaki wants to protect Konoha, keep Naruto safe, and rid the world of every threat surrounding the Otsutsuki, but in doing so, he’s alienated himself as humanity’s protector.

During the time skip, Kawaki strong-arms Konoha with his Karma powers to become the defacto leader against Code and Boruto. He uses Eida to influence Konoha and its inhabitants to his side. While Boruto was being chased by the Leaf as a traitor, Kawaki was shaping Konoha in his image to survive Code’s endless assaults and turning Boruto’s friends and family against him.

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Kawaki isn’t a villain because he’s evil. Kawaki’s a villain because he believes himself to be right and will do anything to achieve his goals. Madara Uchiha comes to mind as a villain who took the weight of the world on his shoulders for the “benefit” of humanity. Just like his predecessors, Kawaki has disillusioned himself into believing he’s the only person capable of saving humanity.

He won’t hesitate to sacrifice everything in that pursuit. But, Kawaki is short-sighted in his pursuit. Instead of allying with Boruto from the start and defeating such world-ending threats together, he drove Boruto from the village and divided humanity’s chance at success. All because he views Boruto as the enemy.

Everything Kawaki has done against Boruto, his family, and Konoha itself has been for destroying every trace of the Otsutsuki Clan. It didn’t help that his own brother became one. Kawaki has his motives, sure, but when his methods involve ruining Boruto’s entire life for the sake of the greater good, that’s when the gloves come off for Boruto. Kawaki isn’t evil, perse, but he is extremely misguided and radical in his approach.

The Otsutsuki and the God Trees Aren’t Great Shonen Villains

Why World-Ending Threats in Boruto are Boring

On the other side of the coin are the Otsutsuki Clan, and the God Trees by extension. These god-like entities are so unbelievably powerful, they teeter down the line between defeatable villains and unstoppable gods. They are so strong and such a danger to humanity, Kawaki has sacrificed everything in order to destroy them and rid the world of such threats.

However, such antagonists are hardly interesting villains compared to more personal connections to the protagonist. Sure, Jura has a bone to pick with Boruto, but only because he wants to kill him and nothing more nuanced than that. When the villain is so disconnected from everything aside from their overwhelming power, they end up being boring and one-dimensional.

The Otsutsuki Clan alone has caused quite a division among the Naruto fandom. The latter half of Naruto: Shippuden introduces the concept of the Otsutsuki Clan with Kaguya Otsutsuki replacing Madara Uchiha as the final villain of the shōnen, something that didn’t go over too well with fans.

Considering the premise of Naruto has always been about the shinobi way of life and their struggles with overcoming hatred, introducing literal aliens raised a few eyebrows. Invading space aliens with goals of destroying the planet is hardly new in fiction, and they are rarely interesting as antagonists.

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Kaguya may have been a warning for things to come, but once Momoshiki arrived, the crisis of the Otsutsuki Clan truly began in earnest. Love them or hate them, the Otsutsuki have become the overarching villains of Boruto. Despite the Otsutsuki Clan’s lack of complex characterization compared to villains such as Madara or Pain.

Their involvement, however, has driven the plot of Boruto for most of the story, even if they are only background threats. With Momoshiki now inhabiting Boruto through his Karma, the two’s fates are intertwined, giving Kawaki the perfect reason for wanting to kill his own brother.

As previously mentioned, the most compelling antagonist or villain is one who has a deep, personal connection with the protagonist on some level. Kawaki certainly checks all the boxes for a villain with personal connections to Boruto, with the two being brothers and their troubled history together.

And while the God Trees are in the limelight now, their only narrative purpose is to distract from the real villain of Kawaki and extend the plot until the two brothers are finally ready to settle things. They can only battle after every trace of the God Trees and the Otsutsuki Clan are wiped out, save for themselves.

Boruto & Kawaki’s Clash is Inevitable & Might Outshine Their Naruto Counterparts

Boruto’s Alliance With Kawaki Will be Very Short-Lived

The world-ending threat of the Sentient God Trees and the looming crisis of the Otsutsuki Clan has led to an awkward situation for the two Uzumaki brothers. After teaming up to save the world, they’ll inevitably face off in a battle to the death at the end of the shōnen.

This outcome was set in stone after the first episode and chapter of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Atop the ruins of the Hokage faces, Boruto and Kawaki will battle to end things once and for all, in a similar vein to Naruto and Sasuke’s final battle. The signs of Kawaki becoming not only a villain, but the final villain have always been there.

Kawaki was set up to be the final battle in the shōnen from the very start of Boruto. But, because of how convoluted the plot has become with so many antagonists, Kawaki’s flown under the radar in favor of more powerful opponents. Just because Boruto easily defeated Kawaki after the time skip, doesn’t mean it will be so easy by the end of the shōnen.

The two Uzumaki brothers have finally allied with each other after Boruto convinces Kawaki of the danger Jura represents. But, just because they are allied now, doesn’t mean they will be after the current Big Bad has been defeated. There’s still a long road ahead for Boruto and Kawaki to walk.

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Boruto: Two Blue Vortex‘s manga hasn’t even released twenty chapters yet, so there’s a lot of plot left for the two Uzumaki brothers to travel until their inevitable final battle. They’re likely to work in tandem and oppose each other many more times until their final showdown, but until then, the threat of the Sentient God Trees is greater than either of them can bear alone.

Kawaki may even turn over a new leaf for a portion of the narrative, similar to how Sasuke Uchiha allied with the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Great Ninja War. But, after Madara, Obito, and Kaguya were defeated, Sasuke once again became Naruto’s enemy.

It’s still up to Boruto‘s plot to decide how Boruto and Kawaki’s alliance will shape up, but it’s only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down. Kawaki may be an ally now, but he’s bound to become Boruto’s greatest enemy. Overall, Kawaki may be currently overshadowed as the true villain of Boruto with threats such as Jura still ever-present, but given enough time, Kawaki will rival Jura and even surpass the Sentient God Trees as the true final villain of the shōnen.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Release Date

2017 – 2022

Directors

Noriyuki Abe, Hiroyuki Yamashita

Writers

Makoto Uezu, Ukyo Kodachi