Boruto: How Konoha’s Scientific Team Failed Naruto’s Son

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 181, "The Vessel," now streaming on Crunchyroll, as well as for manga chapters not yet adapted to the anime.

Boruto threw fans for a loop when it was revealed the young shinobi's mark was a Karma cursed seal imprinted on him by the sinister Momoshiki. After beating the alien who felt he was a god, the mark was left so Momoshiki could possess Boruto and be reborn in his body someday in a second attempt to take Earth.

However, looking at what Naruto's science team has done in the past and what they're truly capable of, it's extremely clear that they failed the Boruto by failing to address his Karma Mark.

Continue scrolling to keep reading Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Start now

Naruto's science team is one of the Ninja Alliance's best, helping put Konoha on the technological cutting edge. They've upgraded transport and medical systems, for example, laying the groundwork for the future and even inspiring old-school shinobi like Sasuke to add science tools to their arsenal. Katasuke, the boss, has even gone as far as building a prosthetic arm for Naruto that mimics Momoshiki's jutsu-absorption, which means the Hokage's beyond good as new.

Yet for some reason, they have yet to isolate and fix Boruto's mark. They should have began studying him since it first appeared, as it's apparent it has something to do with Momoshiki, or is at the very least suspicious. Instead, they let him train with Team 7 and take on missions, which could have disastrous consequences for Boruto's enemies, his teammates and especially himself. They simply don't know the nature of the mark, but for some reason, Konoha leadership is lackadaisical about it -- little to no effort has been made to deal with its impending threat.

This laid-back approaching is surprising, especially considering that ignoring an obvious issue is what led to Orochimaru marking Sasuke and him becoming a weapon of mass destruction. It's also what allowed Kurama to corrupt Naruto in their early days, too. Simply put, Boruto shouldn't be off roaming the world until the issue is sorted. And to make it worse, Kara's agents are out there, waiting to strike when the moment presents itself.

Boruto Anime Costume Design Water Battle

Shockingly, not even Boruto's mother Hinata or Naruto's advisor, Shikamaru, raise any points of contention. Sasuke acknowledges the mark, but he otherwise ignores it, despite knowing it randomly activates. It's a very odd choice, especially as Boruto ponders what the mark could do during his fight with Naruto. They know it's affecting his power, yet do nothing to help him or prevent future incident.

If it backfired then in the heat of the sparring session, Boruto could have killed his father in battle, turned on the village and his family and gone completely off the rails. Hopefully, the anime addresses why this approach was taken by Katasuke's medical engineers, because ignoring the mark leads to dire events in the manga and proves that Konoha's scientists, as talented as they are with military applications, really are shortsighted and reactive.

Wall-Titans-in-Attack-on-Titan
About The Author