Boruto Manga Chapter 55
Boruto Chapter 55 – Legacy
Summary
Boruto manga chapter 55, 'Legacy', and I'm not surprised how certain narrative decisions have polarized fans.
The previous chapter of the manga showed Naruto struggling to recover after using his Baryon Mode enhancement. Fans theorized about the cost of using such a mode. Over the past few months, there have been many fan theories and speculations about the fate of Naruto and Kurama. One or both had to die, right?
"Legacy" gave us the answer. While unconscious, Naruto interacted with Kurama. It was revealed that Kurama had deliberately misled Naruto when it came to the details of Baryon Mode. The price for using such a transformation was Kurama's life, not Naruto's. I liked Kurama's explanation of why he kept the information from Naruto. Had he known that Kurama's life would be in danger, Naruto would never have agreed to use such an enhancement.
The panels showing Naruto and Kurama's final conversion were emotional. Kurama has been with Naruto since our Hokage was a child. The main story arc in the Naruto series was about Naruto befriending Kurama and teaching the ferocious tailed beast to care for humanity. Naruto keeps losing his loved ones. Sigh!
I think Kurama is permanently dead? I think not. From what I know of Naruto/Boruto lore, it is impossible to kill a tailed beast. It might take years, but I think Kurama will come back. Also, doesn't Kurama's chakra exist in the Legendary Tools that Tenten owns?
Even so, Kurama's farewell was still emotional. I can't wait to see this moment adapted in anime.
As for fan reactions, I can understand how some fans don't like that the Boruto franchise is weakening Naruto and Sasuke. The famous Uchiha lost his Rinnegan to Momoshiki and Naruto now lost Kurama. Much of their strength and skill was stripped away.
A number of fans are not happy with how Kishimoto decided to nerf Naruto and Sasuke to make the younger generation (Boruto and his peers) surpass the ninjas that came before them. I mean, I'd hate for iconic characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, Storm, etc. to be depowered to make the next generation look better.
However, having said that, I understand why Naruto and Sasuke had to be nervous for narrative reasons. They are just too OP. If these two weren't scaled back, the Boruto series could easily fall into a Dragonball pattern where the heroes keep getting new power-ups to defeat the OP villains, creating a continuous (and repetitive) cycle of OP vs.
Also, with Naruto and Sasuke not being as strong as before, it opens the door for more things to explore. Will the other Kage (besides Gaara of course) lose respect for Naruto? Will more villains come out of the shadows because they don't have to worry about Sasuke taking them out?
With the way things currently stand, I wouldn't mind seeing Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura work together to defeat a powerful threat. While Sakura is incredibly powerful, she pales in comparison to God-like beings like Naruto and Sasuke. But in their current state, Naruto and Sasuke teaming up with Sakura could make for an interesting battle where each member covers the other's weaknesses.
So yeah, while I understand some fans don't like Naruto and Sasuke being weaker, I'm excited to see what Kishimoto has planned for these two.
As for Boruto and Kawaki, "Legacy" showed that the young boys continue to bond. The scene where Boruto claims he feels anything is possible with Kawaki by his side will probably drive Boruto/Kawaki shippers crazy. Have fun!
I liked seeing how hesitant Boruto is when it comes to using his karma. The threat of Momoshiki taking control of Boruto's body still exists. At this point, I have no idea how Boruto will be able to extract Momoshiki's data. There are theories, but I think Kishimoto has something else in mind.
Sumire looking suspiciously at Amado when we were talking about the plans was an interesting moment. I don't believe Amado. He was very worried about Kawaki's status after Shikamaru was informed of our heroes' return to the village. With Kawaki having the Otsutsuki DNA, will Amado use Kawaki's body for nefarious purposes?
The biggest moment in 'Legacy' involved Isshiki meeting Code. We learn that the code is a failed vessel for Isshiki. Shoutout to YouTuber Naruto explained. I learned about this particular theory thanks to one of his videos. He apparently created said theory after seeing how the anime Boruto handles Code's relationship with Isshiki (in Jigen's body). I still appreciate more non-manga scenes in the anime as the writers adapt the manga content. Such scenes played a huge role in fleshing out the narrative.
It turns out that the code has a white karma mark. He still has some of Isshiki's powers (from what I understand), but his body is not suitable for Isshiki's soul. I liked how Kishimoto chose not to resurrect Isshiki through the Code. To be honest, Isshiki is not a well written villain. So I'm all for him not coming back.
The mission Isshiki gave Koda (before Isshiki's soul dissipated) made sense. The code is to feed Boruto or Kawaki's Ten-Tails. Then Code is supposed to eat the chakra fruit and upgrade to a higher level being. Isshiki wants Code to continue eating chakra fruit from many planets until Code becomes the god of Otsutsuki.
I don't know about you, but I was impressed with the design of the god Otsutsuki. It looked like something out of the Bleach manga. It didn't feel original or something that would fit nicely into the Naruto/Boruto franchise.
One thing that stuck out to me was Isshiki saying that the Code would get Isshiki's data once he ate the Earth Chakra Fruit. Such a fruit contained the data of all living and dead beings on earth. So does this mean the battle with Isshiki took place on Earth? Some fans speculated that Boruto used Space-Time Ninjutsu to transport everyone to another dimension. But I guess Boruto simply teleported Isshiki, Naruto, Sasuke and Kawaki somewhere far away from the Hidden Leaf Village? I would like more information.
With the Code ready for revenge for what our heroes did to Isshiki, I wonder how long it will be before he attacks Boruto and the others.