The following contains spoilers for Chapter 80 of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, “What Dad Would Do!” by Masashi Kishimoto, Mikio Ikemoto, Mari Morimoto and Snir Aharon, now available in English from Viz Media.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Boruto series recently took place with the omnipotent Eida’s reality swap. She altered everyone’s minds in Konoha, making them think Kawaki was Naruto‘s son and that Boruto was the enemy. She left them also believing Boruto has killed the Hokage, which has sent the teen on the run.
But rather than set a course to punish Kawaki and kill him, Boruto is adopting a pacifist approach. Thankfully, as Chapter 80 unfolded, Sarada convinced Sasuke with her Sharingan emergence to help him out. This has positioned them as rogue shinobi hunted by the Hidden Leaf while also setting up the Uchiha Ranger to train Boruto even more. However, while many expect Boruto to show force and beat Kawaki into submission, the door is open for him to perfect Naruto‘s most popular technique.
Boruto Will Be Using the Talk No Jutsu
The Naruto era’s “Talk no Jutsu” is the phrase coined by fans for Naruto‘s loquacious speeches over good trumping evil. He’s used it many a-time on villains such as Obito, Kabuto, Orochimaru, Zabuza and Nagato of the Akatsuki. It helped redeem them before they died, leaning to the light they lost in their time as bloodthirsty shinobi. It was dramatic, overused and cheesy, but it got results. Just as importantly, it was loyal to Naruto‘s character, heart and soul.
Now, while Boruto has used speeches in the past, they have not been to large-scale villains. But when he talks with Sasuke and Eida about making Kawaki see the light, Boruto is firm on convincing him the right way. It does warm Eida’s heart, as she’ll only reverse the spell once Kawaki says so. Thus, should Boruto succeed, she’ll still have a Kawaki to potentially forge a romance with. As for Boruto, he’ll have his adopted brother back, setting up forgiveness and a second chance.
Boruto Still Needs to Improve the Talk Tactic
However, Boruto needs to polish up this diplomatic strategy because Kawaki actually has good reason to not turn face. He wants Boruto dead, as he’s scared Momoshiki will take over the kid and try to destroy the world. In a sense, Kawaki is looking out for the greater good — and protecting Naruto in the process.
It speaks to love, but in a warped and immature manner. After all, Kawaki has never known family, community and a home, so he really won’t want to reverse the spell. As such, Boruto has to be exceptional to convince Kawaki who the true villain is. Naruto did this much more easily as his subjects were terrorists, with a lot of collateral damage to their name that he could use. For as much power as Kawaki has, he is still a teen who hasn’t enacted death and destruction — he’s trying to prevent it.
It leaves fans hoping Boruto’s words are nuanced, because it could run the risk of being repetitive. Remember, Naruto used the technique to have Sasuke become a hero again in their finale, so Boruto needs to differentiate himself and be original. Ultimately, as the hunt heats up, one can hope it’s not a copy and paste, and that mass casualties don’t fall in the interim while Boruto plots his big brother talk against the stubborn Kawaki.
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