Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 34 Review

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex (TBV) chapter 34 at long last graces us with a Code cover. Our perpetual flop-era villain stands on a grid of his claw marks, allowing him to transport to an unknown number of locations, just as his character can still potentially develop in an unknown number of directions.

The background is marble, a sedimentary rock formed by intense pressure and heat, pale as his own Otsutsuki-like skin. Marble is also the rock used as a medium for statues, one solid block slowly chipped away to create life-like renderings made of cold, hard rock. Signature gray veins run through the stone as well, smoky curls evoking the clouds that appeared around Isshiki's spirit when he turned the Will of the Otsutsuki over to Code.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fascinating role marble played in constructing a false vision of Western civilization. Beginning in the 14th century, Roman artifacts and ruins were excavated, revealing marble statues and architecture. Treated as the pinnacle of Western history, the whiteness of these statues has been revered to create an association between classical and neoclassical style and whiteness, both in aesthetics and race. However, all those who associated the outward white appearance of statues with white supremacy were sorely mistaken as the stone was actually richly painted, both clothing and skin depicted in rich colors that wore away over centuries. Thus, the purity of marble associated with the purity of race and culture was a dual misconception of superiority.

Code glowers at the viewer, aside from his geometric earrings that are straight out of the 1980s, the rest of his outfit begging the question: where does someone buy a cravat in the contemporary shinobi world? His appearance is somewhere between Victorian and vampire, a blood-sucking aristocrat. His right hand, the one that remains attached to his body, is open, revealing the empty white karma he cursed for being unable to allow Isshiki to revive in his body. He cups his hand in a way that both displays and protects it, his greatest failure that's also a gift given to him by his god.

The color scheme of Code's cover puts him in some interesting company. When Inojin's cover debuted, I compared it to Boruto's chapter 13 cover, both of them facing in the same direction, two young shinobi drawing their weapons as they prepare to meet their fate. Code isn't going anywhere on his cover, the new weapon hinted at on the edge of his hand hidden by his cape. Interestingly, his pose and all its serving most closely resembles that of Sarada on the chapter two cover.

Chapter 34's title, Used to It, reverberates throughout the entire chapter. We have Boruto leaving his home again, used to feeling like an outsider. We have his temporary acceptance of Inojin, growing used to his connection to Himawari. Specifically, we have Sakura telling Sarada she's used to being criticized for her family. And, at the very end of the chapter, we see Code losing again, something we're all used to.

There's something in the title that also feels as though it's acknowledging the pattern that's emerged in TBV. Twice now, our young shinobi have squared off against the Shinju threat, and twice now, they've emerged victorious under similar circumstances—Boruto's assistance, Koji's visions subverted, shinobi ingenuity, determination, and love working together to defeat the enemy. We're used to it, and perhaps that means something soon will change.

The text on the cover, not included in the English version, reads "quietly burns the flame of vindication," which I take to mean "this motherfucker is plotting some heinous shit."

Of Love and Rot

For the most part, chapter 34 wraps up the events of the Mamushi arc while setting the stage for what will come next. This begins with Kawaki further questioning Boruto about his statement that Thorn Soul Bulbs can rot. I want to note how drained Kawaki looks after his overheating incident, as though his entire body deflated as well. He's barely able to hold himself up, using his hand on his leg to maintain stability. His muscles are smaller as well, stick-like arms closer in appearance to how he looked during his early teen years.

Boruto communicates that a Thorn Soul Bulb will rot if it's not promptly reunited with its tree, killing the person trapped in the tree as well. The idea that the soul and body can be separated for a brief period of time appeared in Boruto before, both in the case of Momoshiki and Isshiki, their souls lasting long enough after their deaths to have conversations with Boruto and Code. The time limit on the Thorn Soul Bulbs confirms that this dualism isn't just a feature of the Otsutsuki, but something that applies to humans as well.

Through this explanation, we now understand why Boruto was in such a rush to leave Konoha with Sasuke's Thorn Soul Bulb, threatening to cut off Kawaki's (scientific ninja tool) arm if he didn't release him. Going back to review these panels, we see the shock in Boruto's eyes when he's shot by Jura's sniping miniature Biju Bomb, his gritted teeth as he hits the ground. Protecting the Thorn Soul Bulb wasn't just about reviving Sasuke. Getting it to the tree in time was also key to not killing his master with their victory over Hidari.

Ikemoto supplies us with an ominous panel of Kawaki thinking too hard about what Boruto just said. On the surface, this explainer serves to introduce the concept that concludes the chapter, but Kawaki intense eyes seem to suggest that this knowledge is something he might be able to use in the future.

On another part of the battlefield, Inojin groans and opens his eyes—perfect, healthy eyes. Doing so earns him an enthusiastic hug from Himawari, excited to see that her healing maintained his sight. Elsewhere, Konohamaru hefts Sarada onto his shoulders, ready to fireman carry her to the hospital along with ChoCho, who insists on joining him.

Used to observing the outside world through her Senrigan, Eida sits in the grass, watching Konohamaru and ChoCho when Daemon asks if she's hurt. "I'm okay, thanks to your protection," she says, looking over her shoulder, then catches sight of Kawaki and Boruto. The panel nears Kawaki's face, in profile, not looking toward her at all. We've seen hurt in Eida's eyes before, but this time, she seems more resigned to her pain, sadness joining with acceptance that there's no way he secretly harbors any fondness for her.

Something I want to note here is that in the last chapter of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (NNG), Eida took the time to tell Boruto that she believes Kawaki truly views him as a brother. What saved Eida from Mamushi wasn't romantic love—it was sibling love, her brother's willingness to work hard to protect her, asking for nothing from it other than their sibling bond. When she looks at Kawaki and Boruto, what she's seeing is the complex dynamic between two brothers, Kawaki always looking towards Boruto and never towards her.

In the middle of this, one of Koji's toads hops up onto Boruto's shoulder and starts Precience-splaining their next moves. We learn that there is a possibility Code might have shown up on the battlefield, and he's certainly lying in wait after having left claw marks on the divine trees with humans inside of them. Koji warns Boruto that if he goes to revive Bug alone, it's likely Code will attack due to his ongoing desire to kill Boruto, which can result in three broad possibilities:

1. Boruto kills Code.
2. Code runs away, then kidnaps Sarada to give to the Shinju to lure Boruto to them.
3. A secret third thing that Koji unlocks after telling Boruto the first two possibilities—Code could deflect and join their cause.

Koji's favorite plan is #1, kill the bastard already, but I'd like to linger over the latter two for just a minute. When Koji first tells Boruto that Code's plan is to "take" Sarada, Boruto's first reaction seems to be one of shock, that immediate "What?" followed by a sharp eye as he glares in the toad's direction. After Koji explains Code's plan, Boruto turns to look at Konohamaru carrying Sarada away, staring at her unconscious body while giving her the old "..."

When I first saw the set of panels below on the Viz website, I interpreted Boruto's expression as one of concern, seeing Sarada unconscious after overextending herself in the battle against Mamushi. However, after I viewed a higher resolution version of the same scene, I want to offer a second possible interpretation. Boruto looks... considerate more than outright concerned, as though he's thinking that Sarada might very well be able to handle herself in such a situation. After all, how could Code kidnap Sarada and deliver her to the Shinju if she didn't want to go with him? Getting rid of 50 Mamushi at once was a heavy lift, but just one Code? Just one Code she should be able to take.

The fascinating aspect of the third option, a longshot, is that Koji tells Boruto it is only possible now that he's revealed the other two options—Code might stop working with the Shinju and join team Konoha instead. What's fascinating about this is Koji didn't receive a Prescience update between telling Boruto of the first two possibilities and the last one, meaning that the last one is only now possible because Boruto knows of the first two.

Confusing stuff, right?

So, my question is this: why is it that knowing the first two possibilities opens up the chance that Code would defect? Why does Boruto's awareness that he has to kill Code or Code will escape and go after Sarada somehow make it possible that Code would defect?

As the Thorn Soul Bulb starts smoking, Boruto decides that the debate is over and he'll have to act. Before vanishing from Konoha, he gives Inojin a pass on being shaved bald (for now) and disappears with Himawari uttering his name.

After Boruto vanishes, a pale toad approaches Kawaki and speaks to him with Amado's voice, requesting his presence in his lab for a conversation. Because Amado created Koji and presumably his scientific ninja tool toads as well, it's possible he's hacked into one of them to use for communication purposes. However, the color difference implies that Amado might have made additional toads for his communication purposes using the same schematics with which he devised Koji's toads. I'm interested in the possibility of dual toad users because Kawaki could look as though he's in league with Koji as well if one of Amado's toads begins accompanying him as well. Koji has been sufficiently sneaky with his toads, deploying them to Shikamaru and Eida as well as Boruto, but Amado might not have the same sneaky finesse of a shinobi to keep them hidden.

Long Overdue Conversations

Without her glasses on, Sarada startles awake in the hospital, surrounded by her mother, Sumire, and ChoCho. We begin to get a sense of her poor vision when she is surprised by Sumire speaking to her and questions if the blur at the end of the bed is ChoCho, her presence unexpected. But even after Sakura returns Sarada's glasses to her, we learn that her sight has deteriorated significantly after using her Mangekyo Sharingan.

There's a line of Sakura's I want to dwell on here—"There's some variability depending on the jutsu's nature and usage circumstances, but regardless..." To me, this implies that the size of the effects and the range can accelerate vision loss. Not only does Sarada's Mangekyo ability defy gravity selectively, the two times she used it during the Mamushi arc were against a large number of targets. When she passed out during the Sand arc, she had a slightly longer battle with him beforehand, followed by a conversation that also prolonged its use.

Sarada begins to tell her mom that even though it'll cause her to go blind, she still plans on using it, but before she can finish, Sakura pulls her into a hug, saying she won't ask her to stop. There's something about this moment of parental comfort that echoes back to the scene when Naruto hugged Kawaki in Ino's flower shop, the same progression of the surprised eyes of a stressed child calming in a loving embrace.

Sakura reflects Yodo's dying words in the desert, saying "[Your Mangekyo Sharingan] is a strength that you yourself brought into being when you deemed you needed power in order to do and protect what you wanted to" before acknowledging that what she wants to do is help Boruto. I really like the implication of the panel below, Sakura talking to her daughter about the willpower to bring a strength into the world to achieve her goals while readers are faced with the doctor symbol of Sakura's back, a skill based on her talents that she cultivated as a teenager for the sake of herself, the needs of her team, and the good of the village.

When Sakura seeks confirmation that Sarada wants to help Boruto, she blushes, hiding her face as she nods. On the following page, we see ChoCho's reaction before Sakura's, her eyes wide with concern and understanding. Upon hearing this, Sakura confesses that she sees herself in her daughter, the willingness to put everything on the line to save a boy, but also Sasuke and Itachi, their determination to take on something so big no matter how the rest of the world views them. After this, we finally get confirmation that Sakura believes in both Sarada and Sasuke no matter what, that nothing, including Omnipotence and the opinions of the rest of the village, can shake her faith in her family.

Sakura is called away, but before she leaves, she takes a deep breath and issues a loud "SHANNARO" to her daughter. ChoCho asks Sarada what her mother's battle cry is supposed to mean, and Sarada responds that she doesn't know, but it fires her up. As Sakura walks away, we see a tear running down her cheek that's quickly brushed away. I think this series of panels is meant to convey the meaning of shannaro, at least for the new generation. It's the personal preparation to take on something hard, to answer difficulty with strength. Sakura wasn't just pumping up her daughter by saying it, she was encouraging herself to allow Sarada to do what must be done. Similarly, when Boruto uttered his SHANNARO in the face of Momoshiki's taunting, he was preparing himself to defy a fate cast onto him as though it was set in stone.

After Sakura departs, we finally have some time for the three female academy classmates to speak to one another. After three years of waiting, readers see ChoCho and Sarada interact in a world affected by Omnipotence. ChoCho admits she didn't understand why Sarada had been advocating for Boruto while shunning her childhood friend and teammate, Kawaki, but like so many others who have faced Boruto in TBV, ChoCho now understands that Boruto has the best interests of Konoha in mind. She points out that Boruto has become very attractive, Kawaki as well. This observation allows us to see Omnipotence's influence in real time as ChoCho begins to question how the Boruto she remembers became Kawaki, a "baddie" who looks nothing like Lord Seventh, but Eida's power immediately causes her to dismiss the thought.

When ChoCho calls Sumire "Class Rep," Sarada is quick to correct her, telling her to use Sumire's real name instead, to which Sumire responds with an enthusiastic "Sumire in the house!!!" Starting at the very beginning of the Boruto anime (and in the novels), Sumire was sent to infiltrate Konoha by her father, a secret agent brutally trained to bring about the village's demise. Her sweet and shy outward demeanor is what led her to be nominated as Class Rep, a goodie-two-shoes their entire class could count on to stay on the straight and narrow (while also not entirely listening to her, either). By using her real name, Sarada and ChoCho are tearing down the last vestiges of that fake personality, allowing Sumire to be her authentic self rather than someone quiet and reserved. I find this to be a really nice touch, some of the best character development we've gotten in TBV, though it's necessary to include content beyond the manga to understand its full impact.

Still a Loser

Boruto arrives in the dimension where Code had been holding the ten tails, activating Momoshiki's Byakugan as he approaches Bug's Divine Tree. We see his visualization of Code's claw mark on the back side of the truck, then from the reader's perspective, Code's eye and claw lying in wait.

Code's thoughts here are interesting—"Boruto, you fool, coming here to save Bug, to whom you have no ties or obligations. I thought you might come, though... cuz that's the kind of guy you are. Now, come closer, you poser hero. I'll end you in an instant by slashing your throat." Though it hasn't been officially confirmed since the end of NNG, we're under the impression that Code is unaware of the Omnipotence swap. However, his mind has easily supplanted the actions of Boruto in TBV onto the boy who usurped his role to be Isshiki's vessel. To Code, the kid he used to pick on is now a vigilante hero, protecting the world from the shadows... which is kind of what Kawaki attempted to do in the Code arc, turning himself over to the enemy to protect Lord Seventh's village.

When Code tries to attack, Boruto already as Uzuhiko at the ready, a counterstrike swirling around his hand that Code is forced to dodge rather than striking. Reminding us of his ignorance to Prescience, Code calls Boruto a shrewd bastard for anticipating the ambush and preparing a counter.

Boruto attempts to goad Code into attacking, but Code again calls him a fake and says he's not falling for a trap. "How do you intend to kill me if you're so scared?" Boruto asks, which allows Code to pull the classic villain move of revealing his secret weapon. In the image below, it appears as though bones are growing out of Code's hand stump, though it could also be the beginnings of some kind of scientific ninja tool akin to the prosthetics developed by Victor.

Despite Boruto's best intentions, the time spent in Konoha and the brief skirmish with Code cost him valuable time. Bug's Thorn Soul Bulb rots before Boruto is able to insert it into the tree. Koji tells him not to mourn because Bug wasn't
"a good guy," but he should watch and remember what it looks like when a soul isn't reunited with its body.

Again, I want to pause for a minute and reflect on what Koji says about Bug. I expect there's more to his character than has been revealed in the manga thus far. Perhaps we'll get further clarification when Eida talks to Boruto or when the anime is adapted, but Bug in the manga is a short, bald alcoholic, missing teeth due to Daemon, who seems overworked and afraid. He's bullied and repeatedly fails to escape from the chaos of Code and Eida. I would say he's a good character, but he doesn't seem like the worst of the worst, deserving of death, if there isn't more to his backstory than what we've seen thus far. Perhaps we, as readers, are supposed to cast Mamushi's misogynistic desires onto Bug, seeing the Shinju's behavior as what Bug himself would have liked to do had he not been under the effect of Eida's charm and too cowardly to act.

Conclusions, Questions, Speculation

• As I mentioned on Bluesky, each of the Shinju arcs is about a specific type of love, which manifests in a twisted way for the Shinju characters and a pure way for the human characters. (e.g., Matsuri trying to kill Konohamaru due to her jealousy over Moegi vs. Sarada and Sumire coming to terms with their mutual feelings for Boruto without pitting them against each other). As we prepare for the next arc, which very well might be Hidari's, we begin with Sakura showcasing a parent's love for her daughter, empowering her to do what must be done by comparing her motivations to those of her parents.
• With my ongoing Boruto 10th anniversary reread and my kid recently deciding to watch the Sarada arc in the Boruto anime, part of me wonders how much this upcoming manga arc will parallel The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring. The two things that specifically stand out to me are ChoCho's involvement after being absent from the plot for so long and Code's plan to kidnap Sarada... if we recall how well it went for Shin when he abducted Sakura.
• I want to talk about stakes in Boruto for a moment, and then specifically address Inojin's eyes. Due to its monthly release, the manga series has a way of creating tension with gut-wrenching cliffhangers that allow us to imagine the worst before revealing a better outcome the next month. Some examples... Boruto's death, Inojin's impalement, Boruto getting snipped by Jura, Sarada's dramatic eye bleed, Inojin losing his eyes to defeat Mamushi. The manga has established a pattern of letting readers create their own horrors, which is great for maintaining the emotional investment of readers, but less great when weeks of angsty speculation lead to naught... except in the case of Yodo. By now, I think we should be used to this mode of storytelling and not allow speculation to create expectations. After all, this is very much the story of the Uzumaki children carrying on their father's will to save everyone, and it'd be kind of damning for them to fail. HOWEVER...
• All that said, I want to point out how much of Inojin's luck has revolved around his proximity to Boruto and Himawari. Himawari healed Inojin after he was almost killed by Jura. Boruto jumped in so Inojin's mind-transfer takeover of Kobu didn't result in murder. In this chapter, it was again Himawari that prevented him from losing his vision. Now, we know Hima can't leave the village, that doing so would likely result in Jura consuming her. In fact, the death that occurred in the story occurred outside of Konoha. All this could be setting up the possibility that Inojin continues to put his life on the line and eventually does it in a situation where no one is there to save him.
• Given the time limit on the Thorn Soul Bulbs, is Kawaki going to pop one in Daikokuten for leverage over Boruto?
• Given the likelihood that this arc is about the relationship between parents and children, might we learn more about Kawaki's past from Amado? Get more Shikadai and Shikamaru interactions? See more of Ino and Sai with Inojin?
• Is Code's new hand-like growth meant to target Boruto, Sarada, or Kawaki?
• What will be Kobu's decision regarding Shikamaru's tenure as Hokage?
• Will Eida get to have her conversation with Boruto soon? And where was Mitsuki during this chapter?
• What conditions have to be met for Code to switch sides? Would it be a change-of-heart thing or a cold calculation?
• When Boruto approached Code's tree, was it his intention to kill him? To me, his behavior suggests that it wasn't his chosen option.
• Is Sarada going to get new glasses and a new outfit soon?????

A lot happened in this chapter, and I'm still ruminating on it, so it's possible another 2.0 chapter revisit review is in store. For now, thanks for reading and check out my Boruto 10th anniversary reread posts!