When Does Boruto Go Back in Time? (& How It Impacted the World of Naruto)

Whether you like Boruto or not, the story of Naruto’s successor is certainly a compelling one with a lot of twists and turns here and there. And while the anime is mostly filled with non-canon content, these filler episodes and arcs are still entertaining. In this article, we are going to talk about the arc in which Boruto goes back in time with Sasuke and how that arc influenced the world of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto series.

Boruto and Sasuke end up in the past when Urashiki activated the Karasuki, a turtle-like device. This happens in episode 128 of the Boruto anime and is part of the Time Slip Arc, which encompasses episodes 128 to 136. This arc is part of the 20th-anniversary project for Masashi Kishimoto’s original Naruto manga.

In the remainder of this article, we are going to give you all the details about Boruto’s and Sasuke’s voyage into the past. You’re going to find out about the circumstances that sent them there, as well as what they did there and how the whole adventure changed (or did not change) the world of Naruto as it had been established decades ago.

When does Boruto go back in time?

As we have said in our answer above, as part of the 20th-anniversary project for Masashi Kishimoto’s original Naruto manga, the producers and writers of Boruto decided to honor Kishimoto’s amazing work with a narrative arc with a return to the history of the franchise. In episode 128 of the Boruto anime, titled “Urashiki’s Target”, the titular antagonist activates Karasuki, a turtle-like device that sends the characters back in time.

This episode also marks the beginning of the Time Slip Arc, which lasted from episode 128 to episode 136 of the Boruto anime series. The arc aired from October 13, 2019 to December 15, 2019, with a total of nine episodes.

Boruto‘s Time Slip Arc

In this section, we are going to walk you through the nine episodes of the Time Slip Arc so you know what happens in it. Overwhelmed by Urashiki’s power, Mirai Sarutobi has her chakra and genjutsu skills extracted by him through his fishing rod. Konoha’s security devices are reinforced in order to find and kill Urashiki. All of the genin except Boruto are sent around Konoha, equipped with earpieces and a geolocation system developed by Denki and Haguruma to track down Urashiki.

Meanwhile, Boruto befriends Sasuke since Naruto forbade his son from leaving the village after his clashes with Urashiki. Using the genjutsu stolen from Mirai, Urashiki sets a trap for his pursuers. Boruto and Sasuke realize this and go after him. When they arrive at the archaeological center, Urashiki is already there and claims that he is going to glean Kyūbi’s chakra.

The three ninjas are brought into a space-portal thanks to Karasuki. Moments later, Sasuke and Boruto fall into a place that appears to be Konoha. However, they are stunned when they realize that the sculpted faces of Kakashi and Naruto are missing. They have traveled back in time and find themselves in the Konoha of the past.

Karasuki warns Boruto and Sasuke that they didn’t go when Urashiki intended to take them and that he will join them in a few days. He warns them to avoid changing the future by interfering in the past. Sasuke wishes to watch Naruto from a distance but Boruto accidentally bumps into him and inadvertently calls him “Daddy”.

Luckily for him, Naruto is distracted by Jiraiya fleeing a mob that caught him spying on them. Later, they meet Tsunade who instructs Naruto and Jiraiya to watch them. Sakura, who ran into them before, comments that Naruto and Boruto look alike; Sasuke has gone into hiding so she won’t recognize him. At night, Naruto takes Boruto home to keep an eye on him and have a chat.

As Naruto shows him around the village, Boruto asks him to introduce him to his teammates in hopes of meeting a young Sasuke. Konohamaru arrives, wanting to show Naruto the progress of his Sexy-Meta Technique. He thus meets the other genin of Konoha. The genin gather in a bathhouse, where Shikamaru explains to them that they need to clean it up.

At the end of the day, the genin complain about having to deal with problems caused by Naruto, who points out that it’s Jiraiya’s fault. At night, Boruto meets Sasuke, who reports to him that he didn’t sense Urashiki. They wonder where Sasuke is at the time and conclude that he is a deserter. But the next day, Urashiki appears in front of Naruto, Boruto, and Sasuke, annoyed at how his plans have gone wrong.

Sasuke attacks Urashiki, but before Boruto can scare Naruto away, the enemy grabs Naruto, then traps Boruto, Sasuke, and Jiraiya with rocks and leaves to figure out the reason he can’t extract Kurama’s chakra. Jiraiya asks who Urashiki is and Sasuke explains to him that he is after the Nine-Tails and they are there to stop him.

Meanwhile, Urashiki reaches Naruto through his seal and enters his subconscious. He walks over to Kurama, telling him he’s here to recover his chakra, but the seal pushes Urashiki away, burning his hand. Naruto breaks free from the fishing line and Sasuke, Boruto and Jiraiya arrive. The chakra forms a shroud around Naruto, causing him to lash out at them.

Boruto tries to talk to him and briefly manages to calm him down before the chakra causes him to attack. Jiraiya succeeds in suppressing Kurama’s chakra and knowing that Urashiki will be back, Jiraiya offers to train Boruto and Naruto together. Jiraiya wants to train Naruto and Boruto to sync their chakra, having noticed that their chakra is very similar, to the point that it synced during their last battle.

After taking a break, Boruto heads to the Hyūga domain where he sees Neji training with Hinata. In Konoha, Sakura comes across Sasuke who, avoiding her, drops a paper in a puddle of water, which she picks up. Later, Jiraiya bumps into him and asks him if he’s Sasuke. Jiraiya is willing to stop investigating their identities if Sasuke gives him any information about Urashiki.

He then informs him of his space-time ninjutsu. Meanwhile, Naruto takes Boruto to get some ramen from Ramen Ichiraku. Naruto then tells him about the massacre of the Uchiha clan and how Sasuke deserted to join Orochimaru, which surprises Boruto. Later, as they practice, Sakura arrives and asks Boruto about the paper Sasuke dropped, a few words are still legible, including Sarada’s name and Sasuke’s.

For his part, Urashiki teleports to the training ground where the young ninja train. After sensing his chakra, Jiraiya and Sasuke join their students. Urashiki tells them that his eyes can see the future. Boruto and Naruto unsuccessfully continue to attack Urashiki. Later, Jiraiya and Boruto notice the bloodstains on Urashiki that are drying. They conclude that he does not see the future, but rather is able to turn back time.

Urashiki finds them with his Byakugan and attacks them. Jiraiya puts them all inside a toad’s stomach, having deduced that Urashiki can’t go back for more than a few seconds. Finding himself in an acid environment, Urashiki exposes himself to acid fumes for a long time and is hit by Naruto’s powerful Rasengan.

Urashiki consumes his chakra gourd and feeling that it wouldn’t be enough, eats his own Rinnegan. A new golden Rinnegan appears on his forehead and transforms. Jiraiya speculates that he can’t use space-time ninjutsu at the moment. For his part, Konohamaru struggles to convince anyone that Naruto is in danger, until Shikamaru returns.

Team Asuma, Kiba, Akamaru and Shino decide to go help him. Sasuke comes to Naruto’s aid and they eventually manage to defeat Urashiki. Before leaving, Naruto gives Boruto a parting gift and tells him not to open it just yet. Sasuke erases their memory and that of everyone they have encountered in the past with his Sharingan. Hinata and Neji find Naruto and Jiraiya passed out in the forest.

Back in the present, Sasuke informs Naruto of Urashiki’s defeat. Naruto tells Sasuke that he should stay in the village a little longer and although he still needs to investigate Kaguya’s ruins more, Sasuke decides to return to the village more often. Sasuke arrives home and thanks Sakura for everything. The next day, Boruto sees family photos with Hinata and opens Naruto’s farewell gift. He finds his father at Jiraiya’s grave and shows him the gift, a special edition ramen from Ramen Ichiraku.

How did Boruto and Sasuke travel back in time?

The events are described in the final moments of the first episode of the arc. As several shinobi mobilize to corner Urashiki, Sasuke explains to Boruto that Urashiki has probably stolen Mirai’s chakra and is using it to lure shinobi out of the village with genjutsu. The Konoha shinobi are able to prevent Kōrogi and Mirai from attacking each other, as each believes the other to be Urashiki thanks to the genjutsu.

Urashiki had been using Mirai’s radio to get information about their movements, and prepares to go after Naruto. Boruto and Sasuke rush to the Hokage’s office, but Boruto stops them. Knowing that Naruto still has capable shinobi around, he deduces that Urashiki is after something else, and remembers that the artifact reported on the news has the same symbol they saw at the Ōtsutsuki Ruin where they fought the White Zetsu.

They go to the research facility instead and find shinobi there that have been drained of their chakra. Urashiki activates the artifact Karasuki, a turtle-like device. Boruto and Sasuke arrive and try to stop Urashiki from using it. Urashiki steps into the light generated by the device, Boruto and Sasuke follow him and enter an unusual dimension.

Boruto and Sasuke attack Urashiki, but he fends them off, knocking Boruto into Karasuki and dropping her from a ledge. Sasuke uses his Rinnegan to swap them with Urashiki, shielding them all with Susanoo. They end up in a forest and make their way back to Konoha. However, they discover that there are only four faces carved into the Hokage rocks, which means they are in the past.

Long story short, it was Urashiki activating the Karasuki that sent the two heroes back in time. Karasuki is an artifact belonging to the Ōtsutsuki clan. Karasuki is very down to earth. He speaks only to explain the situation or to ask for instructions. Although he belongs to the Ōtsutsuki clan and refers to its members in a respectful way, he notes that he has no real loyalty to any clan.

How does Boruto’s time travel change the world of Naruto?

Now, the long-term effects on the history and the future of Naruto aren’t really present when this arc is concerned. The arc, as an anime filler arc, couldn’t really intervene in what had been established and it did not change anything major, nor did it retcon anything in the series. What it did, though, was give us a deeper insight into the original Naruto storyline but from a different perspective.

Namely, the time travel arc enabled us to see the events from the original series from a new perspective. It’s not just a new in-universe perspective, it is also something new for us, the old(er) fans of the franchise, who were there when it all originally happened. This arc allowed us to see some new angles of some of the characters and their powers and abilities, but also to understand the emotions behind the original stories much better.

As it turned out, Naruto had much more depth than we initially thought and the Time Slip Arc conveniently allowed us to observe that from a modern perspective and in light of some new events.