The story of Masashi Kishimoto’s shinobi world from Naruto is currently being continued in Boruto, which focuses on Naruto’s titular son. Boruto is a different story about a different generation, but while it does have its specifics and novelties, it also retains a lot of the old(er) concepts from the original Naruto franchise. In this article, we are going to discuss Boruto and his abilities, as we are going to tell you whether Boruto has the Byakugan or some other technique.
Boruto currently doesn’t have the Byakugan, although he has the ability to activate it thanks to his mother’s lineage. He actually has the Jōgan dōjutsu, as was seen in the manga and the anime. Kishimoto claims that he had intended for him to have the Byakugan as well, but he eventually forgot to give the ability to him, which also means that he does not have the Tenseigan, as the Byakguan is a prerequisite for the latter.
In the following paragraphs, we are going to discuss Boruto’s relationship to his dōjutsu, explaining why he has one and not the others, especially in light of his lineage. The article is going to contain all the relevant information you need to know, as well as the answers to questions that might trouble you about this topic.
Does Boruto have the Byakugan? No, he does not!
The issue of Boruto’s abilities in the series has been talked about online and is a burning question. As the son of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyūga, he is potentially able to activate several dōjutsu. Still, the series hasn’t shown him being able to use a lot of the techniques. We are going to analyze some of the techniques and tell you whether Boruto has them or not.
The first thing we should know is that Boruto should, by all standards, be able to awaken the Byakugan. The Byakugan is a technique inherent to the Ōtsutsuki Clan. It allows the user to look “beyond things,” crossing any obstacle with a simple gaze, to identify the flow of the chakra anywhere and the vanishing points at the same time, and possess an almost 359° vision.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan is related to the Hyūga Clan, which means that Boruto is theoretically able to use the Byakugan through his maternal lineage; the Hyūga Clan members have already demonstrated the ability to use the Byakugan in the original Naruto series, so this shouldn’t be an issue for Boruto. So, he can use it, right?
Well… no, he cannot. Masashi Kishimoto is great, yet very clumsy at times, and he tends to give false or misleading information about his work. By all standards, Boruto was supposed to have the Byakugan, and it would have made complete sense for him to have it, but for some reason – he does not. Kishimoto even stated that he intended for Boruto to have the Byakugan. So, what happened?
“I thought I’d do it, but I forgot (laughs). If there were three (children) … but that would make things more complicated …”
– Masashi Kishimoto
Back in 2014, Masashi Kishimoto explained the reasons behind Boruto not having the Byakugan in an article published by CinemaCafe. He simply forgot, and that’s really authentic when Kishimoto is concerned. The guy simply forgot to give it to Boruto, and that’s it. He could get it sometime in the future, but it seems rather unlikely at this point.
What dōjutsu does Boruto have? Why in only one eye?
If you remember the stories surrounding Boruto’s dōjutsu, you’ll probably remember that various fans claimed that it was the Byakugan or even the Tenseigan, but whatever anyone tells you, it’s neither the Byakugan (as we have explained above), nor the Tenseigan. Namely, in order for a shinobi to activate the Tenseigan, they would have to have activated the Byakugan first, and since Boruto doesn’t have the Byakugan, he cannot have the Tenseigan either. Whether that will change in the future is a mystery – since Boruto is theoretically able to activate it and his younger sister, Himawari, has already activated her Byakugan – and until Kishimoto clears this up, allow us to tell you what dōjutsu Boruto actually has.
Boruto’s only known technique is actually a completely new one – the Jōgan. This technique was seen in the first episode of the Boruto anime series and it caused a lot of confusion among fans, who initially suspected it was a Byakugan or Tenseigan, as we had said before, it was revealed that it is a completely new technique. The technique has since become Boruto’s trademark.
The Jōgan is still a largely enigmatic dōjutsu, mainly because it has appeared only recently – it actually debuted in the Boruto series – and there still hasn’t been enough time for it to establish its presence in the franchise, especially since it was shown during a scene set in the future. This is why we don’t know how it is going to evolve in the future, and this is why we cannot state for sure why he has it on only one eye. It might be connected to the technique itself or something completely different.
The eye in the anime and manga was triggered independently in the presence of dangerous, covert, or wicked targets before Boruto seemingly achieved control of the technology. The Jōgan has the ability to perceive the flow of chakra, enabling Boruto to both see the outward manifestations of a person’s chakra and follow its path.
Additionally, it had an impact on Boruto’s vision and speed, and it also demonstrated the ability to see past the invisible boundaries that separate dimensions. It can watch the Chakra Circulation System and pinpoint its vital location. The Jōgan is a skill that is unique to the Ōtsutsuki Clan and has not been well described in the manga or anime, which makes it all the more intriguing given that Boruto is not a direct descendant of the Clan, as we established above.
Although it is strongly implied that Toneri Ōtsutsuki only expedited the process, it is possible that he assisted Boruto in activating the technique through the well-known prophetic dream. As a result, Boruto would have been able to activate the Jōgan naturally, but it would have taken him some time to do so.
