WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Chapter #51, “Sacrifice,” of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations by Masashi Kishimoto, Mikio Ikemoto, Ukyo Kocachi, Mari Morimoto and Snir Aharon, now available from Viz Media.
Naruto was a thrilling journey seeing the kid from Konoha rise up, unlocking various levels of power to become the Hokage. Naruto wasn't a prodigy like Sasuke and didn't have the benefit of a Sharingan, instead, having to work his butt off with the likes of Kakashi and Jiraiya to harness his potential. This is what made him so relatable and likable. Yes, he had the Nine-Tails Fox inside him, but it didn't start manifesting until he was a young adult. Nonetheless, as he embraced that power, Naruto truly became an anime and manga icon, which reaches the next level in Boruto #51.
Naruto senses that Sasuke and Boruto can't defend themselves against Isshiki and begins trying to come up with new strategies. The villain has dropped mysterious black boxes down in this secret dimension, weakening the Konoha ninjas even more, but as daunting as it seems, Naruto's still as resilient as ever. He knows he's the village's last hope, as well as the free shinobi world because if Isshiki kills them and gets out, it's all over. Sadly, Kurama admits that no matter how hard he tries, Naruto just doesn't have any real plan but the Fox reveals there's one last Hail Mary play to make.
Naruto's annoyed he didn't mention this move earlier but Kurama confesses this is a power-up that will kill the legend. However, it's the best and only approach a desperate Naruto could take. He doesn't hesitate at all as he pops over to knock the tyrant away and ensure Boruto's not badly damaged, reminding Isshiki that his resolve is as strong as ever. He's inspired by his kid and Sasuke and knowing it's now or never, he tells Kurama to activate this new mode.
Isshiki is stunned by the level of chakra as Naruto fully bonds with the Fox, growing horns with his tail becoming a cape. Even Sasuke is shocked as his eyes pick up on the chakra-beast Naruto has become, which seems to be a mix of his Sage Mode and Kurama's full strength. With this, Naruto can now tap into nature like never before, which means he should be able to put out even more shadow clones -- stronger than ever, too -- and also, make weapons like Rasengans into nuclear bombs.
Isshiki's scared, but it doesn't seem like he or anyone else knows the toll this will take on Naruto's body. Jiraiya did warn him overusing Sage Mode would drain enormous amounts of chakra and damage the body if overused in his teen days. Now, per Kurama's words, it seems like Naruto is indeed giving up his body in this fight, making the ultimate sacrifice to save his loved ones.
