Boruto Opening Scene: Theory Explained!

As we all know, Boruto continued the story of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto. Now, while a lot of the characters from the original series remained, Boruto also introduced a plethora of new characters that have taken over the protagonist roles from the “old” generation. And while the series has been building its narrative slowly, Boruto actually started off with a bang before going back in time to explain what led us to the opening scene in which Boruto was fighting Kawaki in the ruins of Konoha.
This scene was one of the more iconic openings in modern-day anime, mainly because it basically destroyed everything that Masashi Kishimoto had built until that very moment. And while the series itself never really lived up to the whole hype, the opening scene still has us wondering, mainly because we haven’t really seen how and why all of that happened. In this article, we are going to talk about that scene, we are going to present it to you and then explain some theories surrounding the scene, based on the most recent facts from the anime and manga.
What happened in the opening scene of Boruto?
Someone begins to narrate that the ninja era is over. After that, the flash caused by a clash of weapons is seen, thus revealing two shinobi fighting over a destroyed face of Naruto on the Hokage Rock. The first to speak is a grown Boruto who has a scar on his right eye and is holding onto a sword; he asks his opponent if that’s what it came to, referring to him by the name of Kawaki. This Shinobi, who wears a strange tattoo on his right arm that reaches his left eye, which he has closed, and he is armed with a cane, replies to Boruto that he and the Seventh Hokage will end up in the same place.
The Uzumaki asks him if there is no other option, to which the strange opponent replies no, and that the era of the ninjas is over. Immediately afterward, at the same time, Kawaki closes his left fist, carrying behind him the arm tattoo that reaches to his eye turns red, revealing a destroyed Konoha around an already crumbling Hokage Rock.
However, Boruto tells Kawaki that he is still a ninja. At the same time, he puts on his forehead protector, and similar to his opponent, marks of a similar design appear on his right arm that reaches his right eye, which turns from black to blue and opening his right eye reveals a strange eye design. Immediately afterward, the two shinobi continue their fight over Naruto’s head.
Back in the past to a prosperous Konoha, someone narrates that the story goes back many years. After recounting some events, at the end of the episode, Boruto looks at the sculpted face of his father, which is still unrepaired. He thinks that his parents have nothing to do with their chosen path and that he will go his way. He smiles, raises his fist, and affirms in his thoughts that this is his history, revealing that he is the narrator from the beginning of the episode.
Boruto‘s opening scene… explained?
As you might have guessed, the opening scene of Boruto was a shocking moment for all Naruto fans. Although it wasn’t Kishimoto who wrote it, there is no doubt that he had agreed to it because this scene basically destroyed everything that he had built up to that point. And while the scene hyped us up for a great story, the narrative has, more often than not, been a bit underwhelming, but we’ll have to wait and see how Kishimoto, who has since taken over the writing process, builds the story so that the opening scene makes sense. Until that, we have some clues to work with, clues that could explain how and why Boruto‘s world is in such a state.
Namely, over the years, we have come to know Kawaki a bit better than when we first saw him. Kawaki had a very troubled past, and his connection to the Ōtsutsuki Clan was thoroughly explained. He was taken in by Naruto and Hinata as their adopted son, thus becoming a brother to Boruto and Himawari. But, while Kawaki undoubtedly loves and respects the Uzumaki family for what they did to him, the Ōtsutsuki issue is something that has been bothering him from the very start and is a lingering issue when he is concerned. Kawaki, namely, hates the Ōtsutsuki quite vehemently, and he also realizes that they are such a threat that they need to be completely eradicated.
And while that would not be an issue in itself, the fact that Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki is currently living inside Boruto thanks to the Kāma he has placed on him, Kawaki is, in a similar way, a vessel for Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. Now, the recent manga chapters have revealed just how much Kawaki hates the Ōtsutsuki and just how much he wants to get rid of them. He is willing to sacrifice himself to eradicate Isshiki, but he must do the same to Boruto to eliminate Momoshiki. This is why Kawaki decides to become the villain of the story.
A recent manga chapter saw Kawaki killing Boruto, but the latter survived and has since recovered. This made Kawaki furious. Namely, Kawaki tried to kill Boruto in order to eliminate Momoshiki; he never hated Boruto, he actually loved him as a brother, but as someone who’s seen the terrors of the Ōtsutsuki, he was willing to sacrifice everything, even his brother, to eliminate them. After Boruto survived, Kawaki approached Naruto and Hinata and informed them of his true plan of eliminating the Ōtsutsuki, Boruto included.
Of course, Boruto’s parents rejected such an idea and could not understand Kawaki’s desire, which is why they told him they would stop him. Kawaki was, of course, prepared for such a turn of events, and he used his powers to seal Naruto and Hinata in a strange dimension until he actually killed Boruto; he also said that Naruto could kill him later, but that he first had to kill Momoshiki (and with him, Boruto).
These are the relevant facts to understanding the Boruto opening scene, we think. There will probably be more to it, as this doesn’t really account for the destruction of Konoha and the fact that there is no one aside from Boruto and Kawaki in the ruined village, so we think that more details will be provided in the upcoming chapters and episodes. Kawaki’s phrase that the age of the shinobi is over is also not clear, i.e., we don’t really know why Kawaki would say that.
But, Kawaki’s plan to do to Boruto what he did to his father now makes sense since we know that Kawaki did to Naruto, although he said that he did plan on bringing them back at one point after his job was done. Kawaki and Boruto clashed over Kawaki’s plan, and since neither of them wants to give up, we’re in for a Naruto vs. Sasuke-style fight that could shake the foundations of Kishimoto’s world. There are still some holes to fill, and we’ll have to wait just a bit until the whole scene is clear.