Kashin Koji is an enigmatic personality in the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations series.

People have been scratching their heads while trying to understand him since his introduction; especially due to his uncanny character design, which reminds people of the beloved Ero-Sennin.

So, who exactly is this Kashin Koji guy? Well, keep reading to know everything about him!

Who is Kashin Koji?

Kashin Koji belongs to a mysterious group known as Kara, whose intention is to harvest the Chakra Fruit. Instead of all this, talk about when Kashin Koji made his first appearance in the series.

Kashin Koji is a straightforward and ruthless individual; who did not think twice before killing his comrade Ao.

He seems to be operating under his own views, always calculating and is very rational and methodical in his approach to things.

He considers himself to be an assassin and is constantly trying to uncover what Jigen’s motives are; to the point where Jigen realises about Kashin’s betrayal.

Ever since Kashin Koji made an appearance as an assassin belonging to the mysterious group Kara, the internet has been brimming with theories speculating about the true identity of the masked man.

Pointing out all the similarities, fans had come to the conclusion that he might have been a character who appeared in the prequel series, Naruto. And it looks like the assumptions and speculations did not go to waste!

Is Kashin Koji Jiraiya?

Kashin Koji is a clone of Jiraiya, not Jiraiya himself! Chapter 47 of the Boruto manga revealed that Kashin Koji is a clone of Jiraiya, created by Amado.

Isshiki Otsutsuki gave this information to the readers, who somehow knows about Kashin’s real identity.

While the fans expected a great fight between Jigen and Kashin, they got so much more. With the reveal of Kashin’s true identity, memories of the great Toad Sage came in like a tsunami.

Isshiki’s strong dialogue about Jiraiya evoked emotions from deep inside the fans’ hearts.

“All genes…All people predestined fate. That man bore a mighty fate, a star of change. Now I understand. Amado had wanted to cling to it… To that man’s might fate. To the minuscule possibility of change, Kashin Koji, the clone of Jiraiya of the Great Three, that you shall die here, was also predestined by your fate!”

While it seems like Isshiking is just being arrogant, he does make a good point here. And perhaps, he is right about Amado’s want to hold on to Jiraiya’s fate.

To make this easier to understand, let’s go back to the Naruto series a bit. The Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku made a prediction about Jiraiya once.

The Toad was sure that during his travels, Jiraiya will train a Child of the Prophecy. This child would either destroy or save the world; depending on what Jiraiya taught him. As we know, this Child of the Prophecy is Naruto.

But, how does this connect with Kashin Koji?

Jiraiya fought his last battle against Pain, hoping to uncover every little secret that the Amegakure’s deity had. While he did manage to understand almost all of Pain’s ability, he had to pay a price for it, the price was his life.

This way, Jiraiya told Naruto everything about Pain, and Naruto managed to defeat the Akatsuki. Naruto can see Kashin Koji’s fight against Isshiki up to a certain point, which tells him about Isshiki’s powers.

Had they known about Jigen’s true strength, Naruto and Sasuke would’ve had a good chance of winning. Since that couldn’t happen, Kashin Koji presented this opportunity to the duo.

Jiraiya and Kashin Koji both brought upon a glimmer of hope; a slim chance of victory for Naruto against his greatest opponent of the time.

The two couldn’t finish the job themselves; which makes Isshiki’s statement even more powerful, as both Jiraiya and Kashin managed to create a minuscule possibility of change, a possibility that can change the world.

Still, it’s not like the fans didn’t expect that Kashin Koji was related to Jiraiya, it was who revealed it instead! Nonetheless, it was a great moment!

The Boruto manga was buzzing all over social media, and the fans were quite happy with the reveal as well! Here are the similarities that we found!

Kashin Koji & Jiraiya similarities:

Like we mentioned before, if you look closely, there are a lot of similarities between Jiraiya and Kashin Koji.

His appearance and ninjutsu had given enough proof for supporters of Jiraiya to stake the claim that Kashin is indeed the pervy sage reborn.

Even though they speculated that Naruto’s and Minato’s master may have gone through some vile scientific experimentations to become what he is right now.

Well, it all came true, kind of.

Let’s take a look at all the foreshadowing that took place in the series that points to this.

Physical traits:

Both Kashin Koji and Jiraiya have the same hair colour, silver (or white, whatever you’d call it) Jiraiya had red markings under his eye, which was one of his major facial features.

Kashin Koji wears a mask, but if you observe closely there are similar red markings under his eye, which end somewhere beneath the mask.

Excited already? We are only getting to the best part!

Similarities in Ninjutsu:

The similarities don’t end at the appearance. Both Jiraiya and Kashin Koji have some major similarities in their Ninjutsus too. 

Both the shinobis have fire release jutsus. Whatever we know of Kahin Koji’s ninjutsus are the ones that are used during the fight with Konohamaru and the new Team 7.

During the fight, the assassin from Kara uses True Fire of Samadhi, spontaneous combustion of an individual which Konohamaru had to endure somehow.

However, most people were sure about it when Kashin Koji was able to use a perfect Rasengan against Boruto, making him one of the very few people other than Minato, Jiraiya, Naruto, Konohamaru and Boruto who are able to use the jutsu.

In addition to that, Koji was able to summon a toad without any qualms which in itself is a red flag.

Now comes another detail that tilts the scales in favour of the theory that Kashin Koji is Jiraiya.

While infiltrating the Hidden Leaf Village, which has a strong barrier which only allows Konoha blood to enter and leave the village, Kashin Koji can pass the barrier undetected, pointing to the fact he is from Konoha. 

Also in this scene, Koji tells himself that his fate connects him to Konoha.

While it is not clear what he is trying to imply, his connections to the Hidden Leaf village become quite evident here further strengthening the basis of the theory that Koji is actually the legendary Sannin.

These were enough to convince most of the fandom that Kashin Koji is related to Jiraiya in some way or the other.

Now, we know that Kashin is indeed the pervy sage reborn, many assumed that he was Jiraiya himself.

However, that simply isn’t possible. We say so because Jiraiya should be well into his 70s by now, with big scars all over his body and a lost arm.

On top of that, they’d have to search the whole Amegakure lake; in which Jiraiya was thrown. Now that we’ve concluded that Kashin is a clone of Jiraiya, how did Amado make Kashin Koji in the first place?

How Did Amado Make Jiraiya’s Clone? 

Firstly, let’s understand why this question is important. Every Naruto fan is familiar with terms like “Rebirth”, “Reincarnation”, “Reanimation”, etc, especially since the Pain Assault Arc.

We first saw Nagato use the Rinne-Rebirth jutsu on a wide scale, and then Kabuto using the forbidden Reincarnation Jutsu. 

While Kabuto managed to summon previous kages and Madara, there was one person whom he couldn’t summon; Jiraiya.

To reincarnate summon, the caster of the jutsu needs sufficient DNA samples of the dead. Kabuto stated that he couldn’t find enough data of Jiraiya’s DNA to summon him since his body was at the bottom of the sea/lake.

So, how did Amado gather Jiraiya’s DNA in order to make Kashin Koji? 

While the series hasn’t given any specific answer as to how Kashin Koji was created so far, there are a few ways through which Amado could’ve created Jiraiya’s clone.

Let’s discuss them below!

1) Amado used Jiraiya’s arm: 

If you remember Jiraiya’s final battle against Pain, then you must know how Jiraiya died. The Legendary Ero-Sennin drowned in the sea after he was hit with Pain’s missile attack.

While he managed to push the Six Paths of Pain to their limits, he still wasn’t strong enough. Coming back to the point, we know that Jiraiya’s body was buried deep into the lake/sea.

In fact, it was out of anyone’s reach, since Kabuto stated that he couldn’t retrieve Jiraiya’s body to reanimate him during the 4th Great Ninja War.

However, there’s one important detail to remember; Jiraiya had lost one arm prior to his death. His arm should’ve been lying around somewhere in the place where he fought Pain.

Hence, there’s a chance that Amado retrieved the arm from there.

This further supports Kabtuo’s statement. Since Amado or a person from Kara took Jiraiya’s arm before Kabuto could even come to the site; then Kabuto will never come to know that Jiraiya lost an arm before dying!

2) Jiraiya’s body floated back to the surface:

Scientifically, a dead body would re-surface after drowning a few days or weeks later. There’s a decent chance that this could happen; if Jiraiya’s body wasn’t eaten away by the organisms inside the huge lake, that is.

Let’s assume that there aren’t many animals in the lake and Jiraiya’s body somehow made it back to the sea’s surface safely.

There’s still a major problem; Kara/Amado would need to check the site in just a few hours or days to find the body.
Hence, this one’s quite unlikely to happen. 

Still, we believe that the first situation has the probability of being true. This is further supported by the Shikamaru Hiden Novel.

In the novel, Sasuke and Sai visited the Amegakure village after a series of events. Seeking to investigate the reason for the abandonment of the village, the two learnt quite a bit.

The village’s restoration process after the end of Akatsuki was close to none. The place where Jiraiya fought Pain was still in pieces. 

Furthermore, Sasuke and Sai accidentally stepped on a trap, which destroyed a secret scientific lab. Well well, can you guess whose secret scientific lab this was?

If you think of Kara, then yes, you’re right! An abandoned village is the perfect place for people working underground and is quite fitting too. 

While Kara used Amegakure as their base temporarily, they should’ve been able to find Jiraiya’s remains in the village.

In fact, there’s a good chance that they created their base in the village as soon as Pain lost! The Amegakure facility angle was also given more importance in the anime! 

Wait, if Kashin Koji is the clone of Jiraiya, then is he on par with the Sannin or stronger/weaker?

Is Kashin Koji Stronger Than Jiraiya?

Yes, definitely! Kashin has the same powers as Jiraiya at the very least, and Amado made quite a few improvements as well! Here is a list of reasons why Kashin Koji is stronger than Jiraiya!

1) Superior Taijutsu Skills:

Kashin Koji’s body was scientifically modified by Amado, making him a superhuman. Kashin can go fight on par against a weakened Jigen.

Furthermore, he was also able to hold off Isshiki for a short while, which is a massive feat in itself! If we compare his feats to Jiraiya, then even the Legendary Sannin feels pale!

2) Superior Speed:

Due to Amado’s modifications, Kashin Koji can move around at blitzing speeds. He can keep up with a weakened Jigen and be also able to see through some of Isshiki’s attacks!

3) Space-Time Ninjutsu:

Kashin Koji can use Space-Time Ninjutsu to an extent as well since he was able to visit the Ten-Tails. As you know, this is a very handy ability in a world full of Otsutsukis!

He won’t have to worry about being trapped in a different dimension and can use it to dodge major attacks as well!

4) Perfected Sage Mode:

This is the most important reason for Kashin’s superior strength.

While Jiraiya needs Ma and Pa sage toads, a lot of concentration to enter Sage Mode, Kashin Koji can do so in the blink of an eye.

Furthermore, Koji has the perfect balance of chakra and nature energy; making his Sage Mode leaps and bounds more efficient and effective than Jiraiya’s!

Combined with massive chakra reserves, Kashin Koji is overwhelmingly stronger than our beloved Ero-Sennin; all thanks to Amado.

I mean, it is kind of obvious, we just have to put our love for Jiraiya aside. Jiraiya lost to Pain, who could be defeated by even Delta, and Delta is far weaker than Kashin Koji.

And, Kashin Koji was able to fend off Isshiki temporarily.

While Isshiki dominated Kashin, the latter still did a good job at pressuring Isshiki, even catching him by surprise with his ability to summon baffling amounts of natural flames.

Talking about Isshiki and Kashin Koji’s fight reminds me of the end of the fight, as Koji suffered severe damages and hasn’t appeared since then.

You must’ve thought this yourself; is Kashin Koji dead?

Is Kashin Koji Dead?

No! Kashin Koji did not die while fighting with Isshiki but was severely injured. His lower body was crushed by the large pillars Isshiki used.

He had lost feeling in his arms and legs. But, before Isshiki could kill him, he used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu and retreated!

There’s a good chance that he ended up going to Mount Myoboku since that’s the place Jiraiya’s toads belong to.

It is quite probable that the old toads there would catch the uncanny similarities between Kashin Koji and the Toad Sage Jiraiya; hence helping him recover physically and gain Jiraiya’s memories back as well.

After recovering both physically and his original’s memories, Kashin Koji might decide to aid Naruto and return to the spotlight when Code and Eida attack!

Will Kashin Koji Meet Naruto?

Honestly, there’s a good chance that Kashin Koji and Naruto will cross roads eventually. Kashin hasn’t made an appearance in a while, perhaps he’s healing.

Or, he might’ve gained his memories back. We believe that he will gain his memories back.

For example, he has felt nostalgic before when he was in Konoha. Furthermore, it isn’t unheard of for people to remember crucial things when they’re on the verge of death.

Koji was well aware of his limitations, but he persevered because he truly sees himself as a shinobi. He has a lot of time to think right now, hence there’s room for Jiraiya’s memory to flood in!

Moreover, he has another reason to come to Konoha: Amado. Isshiki might’ve unknowingly planted a seed in Kashin by saying that Amado used Koji to his benefit.

While this is true to an extent, everything depends on Koji’s perspective. If he takes this negatively, then he might try to hunt Amado.

Or, he might accept Amado’s prior intentions and then prove him wrong by letting Amado know that he survived. This way, he has proved himself, and might even help more.

If we see this from a writer’s/author’s perspective, then this Kashin is a must-capitalize on character.

He is already one of the most known new characters and has made buzz before as well.

His interaction with Naruto would be a moment no true fan will want to miss; since Jiraiya’s little knucklehead student has finally become the Hokage.

With Jiraiya’s memories back, it will truly be a moment out of a Naruto fan’s dreams.

He could just say “I may not be the real Jiraiya, but I somehow feel that he is proud of you” and people will quite literally cry (including me, of course).

Furthermore, we know that words hold a lot of weight in Naruto and Boruto series.

So, some advice from the Legendary Sannin to Boruto and Kawaki would be quite insightful as well; especially because of Jiraiya’s history to create miracles using his wise words.

These scenes would do amazing commercially as well. Since people will talk about these scenes on social media, Naruto-only fans will watch the anime/read the manga too.

There’s a good chance anime-only fans will start reading the manga and boost the series’ overall commercial success!

TL;DR:

Kashin Koji belongs to a mysterious group known as Kara, whose intention is to harvest the Chakra Fruit. The leader of Kara is Jigen, a vessel for Isshiki Otsutsuki.

Chapter 47 of the Boruto manga revealed that Kashin Koji is a clone of Jiraiya, created by Amado. Isshiki gave this information to the readers, who somehow knows about Kashin’s real identity.

We believe that Amado stole Jiraiya’s arm before Kabuto came to collect Jiraiya’s DNA and created Kashin Koji.