Why Did Kawaki Seal Off Naruto in Boruto Chapter 77?

The newest chapter of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations brought shocking but exciting developments for our characters. The manga series is truly “popping off” in the last few volumes, and the flashforward scene we saw in the first episode is coming closer and closer. Kawaki’s role in the series increased tenfold, and our protagonists, Boruto and Naruto, are in deep trouble. At the end of the “Time Drawing Near” chapter, we witnessed Kawaki sending off Naruto to another dimension using his special Time Space Ninjutsu. This article will discuss why Kawaki sealed off Naruto in chapter 77 of the Boruto series.

Kawaki sealed off Naruto in the most recent chapter to protect Seventh Hokage from harm. Previous chapters indicated that Kawaki would risk his life to protect the head of the village, to the point of even killing his adopted brother, Boruto. In this chapter, Kawaki’s resolve to protect Naruto and kill all Ōtsutsuki members, including Boruto, is final, especially when he realizes that Boruto is communicating with Momoshiki in his consciousness. If Naruto is sent or sealed off somewhere where he cannot interfere with his plan, Kawaki can achieve his goal – kill every single Ōtsutsuki member.

We will discuss this topic further by analyzing Kawaki’s relationship with the Uzumaki family, emphasizing Naruto, and explaining why Kawaki sealed off Naruto to another dimension. If you are interested, stay with us until the end.

Kawaki and the build-up to chapter 77 of Boruto

Kawaki is a truly tragic character in the Boruto series. Since birth, he has been a victim of abuse and neglect. Kawaki was living with his alcoholic father, Kokatsu, who forced him to work hard to earn money for drinks. When Kawaki finally met someone and found interest in something, in this case, goldfish, Kokatsu punished the boy with physical abuse and prevented him from eating by locking him up. 

It didn’t help that other children would attack Kawaki for his social status; eventually, the boy was noticed by someone foreign. Jigen, the vessel of Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, buys Kawaki from his neglecting father and brings him to Amado to be one of the fifteen vessels for Ōtsutsuki. The experiments were brutal; most kids died from shady experiments, and Kawaki proved strong enough to survive. He would wake up and notice a strange brand on his left hand – Kāma.

Over the years, Kawaki goes through gruesome experiments, training, and abuse from Jigen, who manipulates the boy into thinking his only life purpose is to become a tool for Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. 

Flash forward several years later, Kawaki is sent by Jigen to test out the teenager’s powers. The special blimp crashes and injures Kawaki to the point of falling unconscious. Team Seven finds him, and seeing that Boruto has Kāma as he does, makes him suspicious of the newcomers – Kawaki suspects they are working with Kara. Garō, one of the Outers, comes to extract Kawaki, but the boy kills the foe with his body modifications and Kāma powers.

He comes back to Konoha with the team and meets Naruto. Other Konohagakure shinobi – Kawaki has difficulty adapting to the new environment, which is much more welcoming and healthier than where he spent his childhood. Naruto welcomes the boy with open arms and does his best to heal his childhood wounds. Subtle events in the series strongly correlate to Kawaki repairing himself and sharing his fears and feelings with others, which is a great way to connect with people.

The Uzumaki family is Kawaki’s shelter, safe zone, and the first place where he feels like he is home, but inner demons and hardships still hold the teenager back. Naruto shares his wisdom with Kawaki and tells him that self-hatred is the worst thing he can do to himself and others and that it won’t solve anything.

The fights with the Kara group, Jigen, and Isshiki, changed the characters through the core – Boruto died and became the full Ōtsutsuki, Naruto lost Kurama, Sasuke lost Rinnegan, and Kawaki grew to love his new-found family. Boruto became his brother, Naruto, his father, and the family made him stay with them for as long as he wanted. 

However, he understood the violence and destruction the Ōtsutsuki brought to Ninja World took a toll on his friends, teammates, and family, so he decided to do something that would protect his family but made them hate him forever. The plan of Boruto transferring his Kāma mark to Code fails, and Kawaki is conflicted.

The most recent chapter saw Kawaki jaded, thoughtful, and colder than usual. The aftermath of fighting against possessed Boruto sees Kawaki spiraling, then realizing that he needs to do the unthinkable. He finds out Boruto still communicates with Momoshiki and tries to pursue the Ōtsutsuki come out. He fails and eventually leaves the premises, with only Boruto noticing he is still in Konoha. 

In the meantime, Naruto and Hinata talk about Kawaki and Boruto when suddenly a teenager comes to the house and tells Naruto they need to talk.

Why did Kawaki seal off Naruto in Boruto?

Kawaki enters Uzumaki’s residence and surprises Naruto and Hinata. He tells Naruto they need to talk seriously, and the Seventh Hokage obliges. Their conversation is one of the most intense moments in the Boruto series, and we see Kawaki confessing to Naruto that he loves, respects, and will do anything in his power to protect him.

Naruto is concerned about Kawaki’s state of mind and questions where those words come from. Kawaki answers that his resolve is made and that he will do anything to protect his true father figure. The teenager adds that Naruto is too good for their world, so he will be the first to die. It doesn’t help that he is also a shinobi who lives by a code and will most likely sacrifice himself for others and won’t survive against Ōtsutsuki.

Uzumaki is overwhelmed by Kawaki’s words, but the boy still continues and reveals his resolution – he will hunt every single member of Ōtsutsuki and kill them with their own powers. Hinata and Naruto notice the word “every,” which suggests that Kawaki will kill their son Boruto to prevent Momoshiki from taking over his body. Hinata slaps Kawaki, but Kawaki repeats what he decided – he will complete his goal and protect Naruto, even if it means his family will hate him for the rest of their lives.

Naruto vows that he will have to go through him to kill his son, which prompts Kawaki to activate Time Space Ninjutsu and send Naruto and Hinata to another dimension. Why? He wants to protect them without hurting them physically.

Throughout the series, there have been instances of Kawaki doing everything and anything to protect Naruto, and the thought of the Seventh Hokage’s death makes Kawaki uneasy and sad. Even worse, he thinks Naruto’s death would kill him, and Kawaki wants to prevent that. The bond between Naruto and Kawaki is strong, but his the boy’s mission to destroy all Ōtsutsuki will prevail, which will lead us to a flashforward scene from the beginning of the series.