WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Chapter 67 of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, “Rift,” by Masashi Kishimoto, Mikio Ikemoto, Mari Morimoto and Snir Aharon, now available in English from Viz Media.
One of the most intriguing parts of Naruto's job as Hokage hasn't just been about integrating Konoha to the outside world, but also instilling unity within the Hidden Leaf. Sure, diplomacy with other nations and ensuring the shinobi alliance remained sound was high on his agenda, but Konoha itself was fractured after the Uchiha civil war when Naruto and Sasuke were kids.
Thankfully, with Naruto stopping the Akatsuki and Kaguya's aliens, Tsunade and Kakashi had a much easier job in terms of fixing their home. However, now that he's in the leadership role himself in Boruto, Naruto's loyalty and firm belief in the best of people could destroy his family, as well as the Hidden Leaf.
It came to light in the fight outside Konoha's woods when Shikamaru confronted Naruto about Kawaki. Code used Daemon to knock Kawaki out, then fled to plot against Konoha for another day, but Shikamaru had internal issues to address. Boruto was still barely clinging to life after Kawaki tried to kill him so Momoshiki couldn't possess Boruto's body.
The fact that Kawaki went rogue, accessing a secret Karma mark from Amado, had Shikamaru distrustful and demanding action. However, Naruto was insistent there'd be no reprimand. After all, Boruto agreed to the plan too, asking Kawaki to kill him to save everyone else should he not be able to contain Momoshiki's soul.
Admittedly, Shikamaru was emotional because Boruto's like a son to him, but Naruto is too forgiving. He confirmed he wouldn't alienate Kawaki and would instead stand up to anyone who had harsh words for him. In fact, Naruto was adamant his family would stick behind the teen they adopted to reaffirm to everyone this was a one-off incident and Kawaki wasn't reverting to his Kara terrorist ways. It was reminiscent of how he backed Sasuke, but that was a different era and circumstances.
Sasuke was consumed by hate and manipulated by many forces, including what happened to his clan. Kawaki, though, is making decisions on his own that could endanger Konoha's safety. While this is something fans aren't surprised to see Naruto doing, it's not easy to see Hinata taking to the kid who tried to murder her son, especially as she wanted to tag along to protect Boruto. Himawari may not forgive as well, which could exemplify the Hyūga clan's stance. They've taken some time to reestablish themselves as a leading family in the Hidden Leaf and won't like Naruto backing someone they could perceive to be a threat to their kin.
Lastly, Konoha views Naruto's family, especially Boruto, as celebrities. The adults and teens swoon over him, with Boruto saving them from so many tyrants such as Momoshiki and Kinshiki at such a young age. Seeing as they hold Boruto up as a talisman, unless Naruto and Shikamaru keep things quiet, the public won't take well to Kawaki's betrayal. They already consider Kawaki a black sheep, and because Katasuke and co. have to tend to Boruto medically, this may leak out. Thus, Kawaki could be villainized more than ever, which is bad timing given threats like Eida are around as well.
These people just won't like the idea of Kawaki getting a free pass, leaving the Hokage with a tough choice. And sadly, it might be a lose-lose because if he spares Kawaki, the public will hate the kid, and if he punishes him, Kawaki will hate the leader. Ultimately, both create a path for an angry Kawaki to lash out, which may inform why he turns evil later down the line in Boruto and demolishes Konoha.
