The last time Naruto and Sasuke fought against a partially manifested Isshiki, they were easily outclassed. Fans were expecting that this time around the result would be different. Because it’s Naruto and Sasuke we are talking about. They have come back from worse odds to defeat powerful villains in the past (read Madara and Kaguya). So this time they should be able to take down Isshiki as a revenge for last time’s defeat right? 

Well, that did not seem to be the case here.

Come chapter 50 of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, it seems that nothing much has changed. Naruto and Sasuke were no match for Isshiki and his unique dojutsu. The fight was so one sided that Sasuke almost ended up dying. But thanks to Boruto making a cocky decision, he somehow survived.

If you have not read the latest chapter, you can read it for free on Viz.com!

In the previous chapter, Boruto had managed to teleport Isshiki and himself to some unknown dimension. Naruto and Sasuke followed suit. They might have talked big, but it seems that deep down both of them knew they wouldn’t be a match for Isshiki. That did not stop them from going head-to-head with the fearsome Ohtsutsuki though.

Naruto enters his Kurama Chakra mode and takes the fight to Isshiki. But Isshiki’s ability to shrink chakra and inanimate objects, the Sukunahikona, nullifies Naruto’s Rasengan and other attacks. However, Naruto does manage to corner Isshiki for a second. And Sasuke almost manages to hit him with his Chidori. But Isshiki uses the second dojutsu in his right eye, the Daikokuten, and summons massive black cubes which he can telekinetically manipulate.

This breaks the teamwork of the Konoha powerhouses and gives Isshiki time to counter.

Making full use of the confusion caused by the appearance of the cubes, Isshiki goes on to engage Sasuke. The Ohtsutsuki intended to kill the three of them one at a time. Sasuke manages to block Isshiki’s staff with his sword, but, again the Sukunahikona puts him at a disadvantage. Isshiki easily manages to overpower Sasuke, now that his sword has been shrunk. 

And Isshiki would have killed Sasuke in one swipe if Boruto had not interfered. 

Seeing that his mentor was in mortal danger, Boruto puts himself in front of Sasuke, ready to sacrifice his life. At first this seemed like a stupid move because Isshiki could have killed both of them with a single strike. However, the Otsutsuki hesitates to kill Boruto. This gave the young shinobi enough time to save Sasuke from immediate danger. 

Boruto manga is not known for its extravagant fight sequences, but the current fight was kind of lacklustre compared to the previous ones. It served the purpose of progressing the plot and not dragging out the chapter too long. But it seems that Ikemoto could have been more creative with some of the sequences and jutsus.

Readers were totally unhappy with how their favourite characters were nerfed. They had to be reminded that the manga is named Boruto and not Naruto, tsk. While most of them complained about the legendary shinobi not going all out by using sage mode, or atleast a susanoo to tackle the threat posed by their foe, there is a clear reason as to why the two of them were not able to defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki. We shall be discussing in a different blog. 

Meanwhile, back at Konoha, Kawaki wakes up to find that his karma has disappeared. We also get a glimpse into his mental state. He still seems to be carrying a lot of baggage from the abuse he was subjected to by Jigen and also his father. Jigen had made him believe that the Karma is what gave meaning to Kawaki’s empty life. It gave him a purpose and made him who he is. Now that the Karma seal is gone, we need to see how he’ll react. 

We do know that he’ll get the karma seal eventually, which means that Isshiki will come out on the winning side in this battle. So will Kawaki get involved in it and turn the tides in favour of Isshiki?

Shikamaru is still continuing with the evacuation orders, preparing for the worst outcome. But even through this commotion, Amado seems to be calm and collected. The wily scientist seems to have a lot more information about Isshiki and the Otsutsuki’s which he has not revealed. 

But he does state that Boruto might have figured out his importance in this fight, making him a key figure in taking down or delaying Isshiki.

Amado seems aware that Isshiki can’t kill Boruto due to some reason. And Boruto seems to have deduced the same. While the reason is not clear, this has become the trump card for the three konoha nin to turn the battle in their favour. 

We don’t know what Boruto is planning to do. If he intends to use Momoshiki’s powers,then he’d be putting both himself and NaruSasu at risk. Isshiki does mention that Momoshiki has downloaded 70-80 percent of himself in Boruto. Now that only 20 percent is remaining, Boruto could easily lose control if Momoshiki manifests.

Also we are interested to know the reason why Isshiki can’t kill Boruto (we have some theories of our own). While this will be revealed in the next chapter, we hope it is not something as simple as one otsutsuki refusing to kill another otsutsuki. Well, as readers of the manga, we are no strangers to cliffhanger endings. We are sure that most of our questions would be answered soon in the coming chapters. But that won’t keep us from speculating what could happen and come up with theories.

What are your opinions of Boruto Chapter 50? Were you disappointed how Naruto and Sasuke lost easily to Isshiki? What do you think will be the outcome of the battle? Let us know them in the comments section!

© @VIZ MEDIA/NARUTO PROJECT/BORUTO PROJECT/MASASHI KISHIMOTO