Althou Masahi Kishimoto’s Naruto manga ended a while ago, stories from the shinobi world have continued in Boruto: Naruto Next Gerations. Although the show focuses on Naruto Uzumaki’s son, Boruto, Naruto still has a very important role in the series, as we explore his life after the events of the Naruto manga.
In this article, we are going to tell you whether Naruto actually dies in the Boruto series and what his actual fate is, based on the most recent events in the manga and the anime.
Naruto is currently alive and well in the Boruto series, although he has been severely weakened now that Kurama is dead. We don’t know what happens to him later on despite the enigmatic first episode of Boruto, but based on what we know so far, we assume that he will survive the events of the Boruto manga.
The rest of this article is going to focus on Naruto’s fate in the Boruto anime. We’re going to answer some relevant questions for you, as well as give you some additional information (beware, spoilers ahead) about the events of the manga and the anime series, thus telling you everything you need to know about what happens to Naruto Uzumaki in the Boruto series.
Does Naruto Die in the Boruto Anime?
If you remember correctly, the first episode of the Boruto anime showed us a brief glimpse of a future in which the Leaf Village is completely destroyed and Naruto is seemingly dead. Now, this was just a brief insight, as the plot quickly reverts back to the present, where Naruto is still alive and well.
This is correct as of Episode 231 of the Boruto anime series, which means that Naruto is still alive. But, will he have died by the time the future from episode one becomes the present? We don’t think so.
We’ll explain our reasons in more detail in the last section of this article, but here we can only say that there is no evidence that points to Naruto actually dying; he might be injured, but not dead.
Namely, it is implied that Naruto is gone at the time, but we haven’t seen his body and we all know about the informal anime rule – if you don’t see a character die and you don’t see the body, they’re most likely not dead. Naruto being dead is a shocking revelation that was probably executed in such a way to attract fans, but we assume that we’ll see Naruto alive when the future becomes the present.
Does Naruto Die in the Boruto Manga?
The answer to this question is the same as the one provided above. The Boruto anime has a lot of filler content, but it also follows the manga, so the works actually don’t contradict each other. Since Naruto Uzumaki is still alive in the anime, he is also still alive in the manga, as of Chapter 64, which came out in January 2022.
Who Almost Killed Naruto in Boruto?
Now, Naruto does come pretty close to dying in the Boruto anime series. This happened during the fight against Jigen, who was revealed to be possessed by the powerful Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. In this section, we are going to tell you a bit about that battle.
If you remember, the battle against Jigen (controlled by Isshiki), was one of the toughest that Naruto had ever faced. Ultimately, despite their best efforts, Kurama, Naruto, and Sasuke were quickly overwhelmed and overpowered by Jigen, who later turned out to be controlled by Isshiki Ôtsutsuki.
During a crucial moment when Isshiki was about to kill Sasuke, Naruto managed to restrain Isshiki with his clones while Sasuke escaped with his Rinnegan. Sasuke actually transformed out of the strange dimension Jigen had put them in.
As Naruto continued to taunt Isshiki, Kurama told him to shut up, stating that from the start Isshiki had never intended to kill him, but that he could just change his mind and slaughter them at any time, to which the Ôtsutsuki congratulated the fox before sealing them in a giant coffin. The seal was then placed under Boro’s protection.
Determined to save them, Team 7 and Kawaki used their might with Kawaki and Boruto’s Kâma to enter the dimension that Naruto was imprisoned in along with Jigen (and Isshiki). While battling Boro, Boruto and Kawaki used their Kama to create a rift in the seal, freeing an unconscious Naruto. After the team defeated Boro and returned to Konoha with Naruto, they were all taken to the hospital for treatment, with Naruto recovering quickly.
Later, after Boruto teleported Isshiki and himself to the dimension where Isshiki had sealed them, Kurama, Naruto, and Sasuke managed to join Boruto for their second showdown against Isshiki. However, the Otsutsuki once again proved too powerful for them by knocking out Sasuke and blocking Naruto’s sensory abilities by manifesting giant black cubes, a fact that Kurama was quick to observe.
Seeing how determined Naruto was to stop Isshiki, even if it were to cost him his life, Kurama suggested using some form of last resort which would certainly result in death. Naruto consented, stating that by the time he decided to become a Hokage, he knew the risks and was ready to die. Naruto adopted this new form as Baryon Mode.
Kurama explained to Naruto that the mode had the same principle as nuclear fusion, consuming all of their respective energy and that he had to be careful not to make unnecessary movements. The new form baffled everyone with its power. Naruto quickly began to overwhelm Isshiki. Soon after, the tension of Baryon Mode began to impact Naruto, who was gradually becoming more and more tired.
Kurama noted that this mode gradually drained all life forces, including Naruto’s. However, it also drained Isshiki’s strength with every touch, meaning they just had to keep putting pressure on Isshiki until his already reduced lifespan ran out. After Isshiki’s defeat, Kurama spoke with Naruto in his subconscious for one last conversation, as Baryon Mode proved too much to handle. This was a tragic realization on Kurama’s end.
Naruto told the demonic fox that he had no resentment towards him, despite the murder of his parents. While Naruto was ready to die, Kurama revealed that Naruto was not going to die, as it was his own life that was put on the line using Baryon Mode.
Kurama insisted that he had never lied to Naruto, but knew that the Hokage was not risking his life and thus hid the truth. Before Kurama finally disappeared, the latter warned Naruto that he was losing all access to his chakra and abilities, which meant he should be more careful then. Isshiki was finally defeated, but the cost of this victory was great.
Will Naruto Die Without Kurama?
Naruto losing Kurama was a major moment and something no one really anticipated; the guy survived so many tough battles without losing Kurama that it was expected for Kurama to stick around until the very end.
Now, Naruto did survive Kurama’s death so the mere fact that Kurama’s dead doesn’t influence Naruto’s life, but will he become so weak that he will eventually be killed without Kurama?
We don’t think so. Namely, Naruto hasn’t used Kurama that often; sure, Kurama was always there for support, but Naruto rarely utilized the demon’s powers. So, even without using Kurama’s powers, Naruto has proven himself to be extremely powerful and resilient, so much, in fact, that he has not only survived, but also won in a large number of tough battles against very powerful and skilled opponents.
This is why we think that Kurama’s absence per se won’t meant that Naruto will die in battle. He still has enough chakra, skills, and experience to come out alive from a battle and that is what we think is going to happen in the future.
Will Naruto Get Kurama Back in Boruto?
This is still a major mystery. Namely, Kurama was an essential part of Naruto from the very beginning and although Naruto didn’t always use Kurama’s powers (there was even a period when he could not control Kurama), Kurama was always there. This heartbreaking goodbye caused a lot of confusion and we’re all confused as to the actual fate of Kurama.
This is a situation we’ve never been before and we actually don’t know what will happen to Kurama in the end. We’re hopeful that we’ll be seeing the demonic fox later on, but we don’t have any guarantees regarding that so it’s just a collection of good wishes.
What Is Naruto’s Fate in the Future and Will He Really die?
Like all characters, Naruto will eventually die and will be succeeded by the Eight Hokage, but we don’t see it happening soon. Namely, Naruto is a mortal and he will eventually die of old age, but we don’t really see him dying before that.
He has been the pillar of Kishimoto’s franchise since the very start and although the focus shifted on his son, Naruto still has a pivotal role in the whole franchise, even in Boruto. Sure, the narrative focus is on the next generation, but we don’t really see Naruto dying.
There are no hints that point to Naruto’s premature death so we assume that Kishimoto won’t go that far. First of all, Boruto was initially a sequel written by another author before Kishimoto took over the story, which implies that Kishimoto never had any firm plans to continue the story after Naruto completed.
Now, a character that has been around for such a long time and is still the trademark character of the whole franchise is unlikely to die, as it just wouldn’t make any sense for Kishimoto to kill of Naruto.
Perhaps there is going to appear a more grand plot scheme where Naruto has to die, but we don’t see it happening and we think it would be silly for Kishimoto to go in such a direction.
Boruto Uzumaki hasn’t overtaken his father in terms of popularity and he probably never will; on top of that, Naruto Uzumaki is synonymous with the whole franchise, which is why it would be stupid to simply kill him off. This is why we think that Naruto won’t die prematurely.
