Naruto's Replacement Isn't Just The Seventh Hokage's Opposite, He Flips The Franchise's Main Theme

After 700 chapters and a decade and a half of anime adapting Masashi Kishimoto's iconic manga, along the way.

Now, with Boruto: Two Blue Vortex finally returning on September 17, 2026 for chapter 37, the Naruto website just published the first sneak peek of the big chapter ahead. Within this latest full-page glimpse shows a very different fate for Boruto than his father, one perpetually pushing him and his friends apart, with his allies now considering keeping him out for his own good. Rather than rallying around their central hero, Jiraiya's clone Koji Kashin is urging Inojin Yamanaka to cut off communications with Boruto, if for a moment, to determine their next move, while Boruto is left alone to wonder if his dear friend Sarada Uchiha, captured by Code, can now even be saved at all.

Naruto's Son Has Even Fewer Friends In His Corner In Latest Reveal

Shown in the latest preview, Boruto's predicament clearly hasn't shown improvement following Sarada's capture by Code in chapter 36. Boruto even asks Koji directly via Inojin's Mind Transmission Jutsu whether there's even a way to save Sarada or not, to which Koji responds by asking Inojin to cut Boruto from their communications, even just for a few minutes. Overtly keeping the protagonist out of the loop isn't exactly unheard-of in the Naruto franchise, though. The original series eventually made a point of

Now, with

Writer

Masashi Kishimoto

Writers

Masashi Kishimoto

Penciler(s)

Mikio Ikemoto

Inker(s)

Mikio Ikemoto

Colorist(s)

Mikio Ikemoto

Publisher(s)

Viz Media