Two Blue Vortex: Chapter 36 Review

Cover

The cover for Boruto: Two Blue Vortex (TBV) chapter 36, Parental Love, once again showcases Mikio Ikemoto's signature approach to blending fashion with symbolism. The genius scientist and master manipulator, Amado Sanzu, is the feature character, debuting a new outfit since his appearance in the previous chapter. In TBV, outfit changes often correspond with gaining new powers or abilities, which we'll discuss a little later.

The background of the cover is unique for TBV, a series in which patterns and stances often repeat themselves, drawing similarities between characters and themes. Instead, what's featured is a vintage wall paper pattern, stencil-like designs of plants and flowers (perhaps reminiscent of the Shinju and Divine Trees), crisscrossed by diagonal lines. The overall effect is to give Amado a domestic aura, positioning him against a home-like design despite the fact that we've rarely seen Amado outside of his lab.

Also interesting are the two parallel lines representing the green and red-orange tones of his outfit and accessories, colors that are opposites, the space between them slightly darkened. The opposing colors seem to be representing the duality of Amado's character, the claim that he's doing everything for the pure love of his daughter contrasted with the lengths he'll go to attain his goals—not unlike Kawaki in this chapter. Amado positions himself between these lines in the darkened space between them, his intentions unknowable.

The lines themselves also reminded me of the Boruto anime ending featured during the Sarada arc, the colors associated with Sasuke and Sarada combining and forming a circle that divides again and again until it forms an Uchiha symbol, representing the way an egg cell only divides once fertilized, two parts growing exponentially until it becomes a person. Contrasting this imagery with the chapter 36 cover, though Amado claims to be Koji's father as his "birth parent" and creator, both characters lack the genetic inheritance to make that connection. Unlike in the images below, the two lines remain separate, never connecting physically or emotionally to become something more. To use the phrasing of The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (what that anime arc was based on), there are no "connected feelings" between Amado and Koji.

Amado's new outfit and color scheme begs us to make another comparison—the similarities between his new look and Shikamaru's Hokage style. They both feature high-collared green shirts and tan pants, the collar of Amado's jacket as high as the collar on Shikamaru's cape. Contrasting the two, Amado looks much more at ease (perhaps because he's being allowed a cigarette) while Shikamaru worries with the connecting braid on his cape as if it bothers him, refusing to look the viewer in the eye while Amado looks straight on, his eye color obscured by his tinted glasses. Even the text on the two covers is colored in similar shades of green. Keep this comparison in mind a little later in this chapter review.

Before we move on to the title, we need to talk about the outfit itself, transitioning Amado from a baggy shirt and pants to a much sleeker look. As noted earlier, outfit changes often occur with new power-ups: Hima's transition after she discovered Kurama was inside of her, Inojin's change when he started working with Koji, Kawaki's switch when he joined the Jura fight after Amado boosted his power levels. If speculation is correct about this chapter, and Amado now has access to Koji's Prescience visions, that could warrant the glow-up, but I also wanted to note something else in the panel below.

While colored green on the cover, Amado's new fingerless gloves seem oddly familiar in black and white, the studded pattern reminiscent of Code's claw marks, which also appear on the Claw Grimes and Shinju. If we're going to theorize that Amado has figured out a way to share Koji's images with himself, it's possible he's also been collecting Shinju from his other experiments and is able to access Code's claw marks as well through Scientific Ninja Tool gloves (which also have lines on them, similar to the lines on clone Akebi's body-covering). He could be collecting all the abilities of the cyborgs he modified with Shibai's DNA and claiming them for himself. Also of note is that he now shared the striped-pant-leg fashion with Kawaki, taking a bit of that look for himself as well.

Title: Parental Love

Those of you who've been following my Boruto theorizing through many years will be aware that I've said on numerous occasions that the series is about fathers and their children; however, this TBV arc seems to be exploring this theme even more explicitly than usual. We know that Amado speaks this phrase to Koji, framing his nonconsensual upgrading as an extension of "parental love" for the clone he created and thought he watched die at the hands of Isshiki. Earlier in the chapter, we see Sai flashing back to his memory of realizing Inojin was involved in Shikamaru's behind-the-scenes alliance with Boruto and tries to cover for them both.

I think there's another aspect of parental love that's at play in this chapter, one that might direct the trajectory of the story going forward. Koji tells Amado that he has yet to see a future in which Kawaki revives Akebi, Amado's deceased daughter, with the genetic data and memories embedded in his Karma. I suspect this knowledge is going to significantly alter Amado's plans going forward, especially if he's now privy to Koji's visions and can manipulate the present to alter the future, trying to create a path forward in which his daughter is revived.

Previously On... BORUTO

Chapter 36 begins like so many anime episodes, with a brief flashback to the events leading up to the end of the previous month's chapter. In it, we see the moment when Amado asked for Kawaki's assistance in abducting Koji. Kawaki's demeanor in this chapter is an extension of his behavior since the Mamushi fight. His willingness to do anything to achieve his goals has now turned into a subservience to Amado as his power is now reliant on remaining in the scientist's good graces. Both Amado and Kawaki express a surface-level pragmatism in their exchange, Kawaki repeating that the only thing he cares about is destroying the Shinju while Amado assures him that everything he does is to revive his daughter. However, the paneling and expressions imply that their words aren't representative of their intentions or feelings.

As seen above, when Kawaki questions whether kidnapping Koji will interfere with their battle against the Shinju, we have two panels of Amado with his cigarette, a drawn-out pause before giving an answer obscured in smoke. Later, when Amado remarks on how agreeable Kawaki (who is generally pretty intractable) is with the kidnapping plan, Kawaki is depicted as looking away and dismissing the subject. I think it's reasonable for readers to infer that Kawaki suspects Amado wants to do more than talk. After all, he's been modified by Amado against his will in the past as well.

It's All in the Hair

Ikemoto's love of character design manifests in visual storytelling as the plot progresses. With both Kawaki and Sarada, we've seen the state of their hair play an important role in demonstrating their mental state and power level. Below are four examples of Kawaki's changing appearance through the series: chapter 1, chapter 18, chapter 24, chapter 36.

He begins the story with a fairly standard hair style, defined tendrils twisting at odd angles from his head. However, by chapter 18 when he comes to Amado for his first power-up after getting humbled by Jura and Boruto, we see that his hair is now flat against his head, a few odd pieces facing downward. When he confronts Jura in the Sand, his black hair is all spiking up, the blond sides fully exposed. However, after overheating during the Mamushi fight, he arrives in Amado's lab with flat hair once more, almost appearing chunky and greasy in comparison to the more sleek look in chapter 18.

I feel as though we're supposed to interpret his appearance as a low point for his character, his own quest for more power leaving him defeated and placing him into Amado's hands. His lack of questioning doesn't stem from ignorance or inaction, but because he's realized his position in relation to his goals and, as of now, accepts it. It's also this acceptance that has finally drawn an emotional response from him, though—the guilt in the last chapter, the shame, his diverted eyes. To a certain extent, he knows he's not in a good situation, but he doesn't know how to get out of it, either.

And I Would Have Gotten Away with It, Too, If It Wasn’t for Those Meddling Politicians

If you wanted to put the most awful people in TBV in a room together, you couldn't do much better than Lord Kobu and the two members of the village council who should have been put out to pasture after Naruto.

With Sai as a witness, Kobu describes what happened during the Mamushi arc from his perspective: his memory blanks out during the interrogation and he comes to on the rooftop of Hokage Tower, surrounded by Mamushi duplicates. In that moment, Karma-activated Boruto with Momoshiki's Byakugan eye swoops in and destroys the enemy in a single blow.

Heroic... or suspicious?

As I pointed out a few times during the Mamushi invasion, Boruto's actions could be read as being in league with the Shinju, and that's the assumption Kobu and the councilors come to as well. Though it comes at the worst possible time with terrible repercussions (seemingly the theme of this entire chapter), I'm glad to see that the pattern of Boruto converting people by seeing him fight is finally breaking.

As the councilors and Kobu discuss the matter, dismissing all the pieces that don't make sense while coming to the conclusion that the Hokage is working with the Hokage-killing traitor, Sai flashes back to the toad on Shikamaru's shoulder and the moment Kobu stared at him and yelped "Dad!" Not only is Shikamaru's head on the chopping block, but so are all who consorted with him—including Inojin.

Sweating in a way that's great for visual storytelling and bad for the head of ANBU, Sai eventually interrupts, asking if Kobu is really accusing the Hokage of treason.

Kobu: That's exactly what I'm doing.

We learn that he's already submitted his report to the Daimyo. After receiving his approval, Kobu will remove Shikamaru from the office of Hokage after he finds hard evidence of his betrayal... meaning his interference in the plot will continue.

Cigarette Smokin' Daddies

(Are there any of you reading this who are old enough to read that in the same rhythm as Cherry Poppin Daddies?)

As the powers that be talk of ousting Shikamaru from office, we find the interim Hokage sitting behind his desk, a cigarette smoldering as he pores over paperwork. Suddenly, a member of the Sensory Unit contacts him, letting him know that someone with Jiraiya's chakra has entered the village. Wondering what Koji is doing, Shikamaru tells the shinobi he's communicating with that the conversation is classified and asks for his current location. At that same moment, Koji awakens in Amado's lab, strapped down to an exam table with his hands bound in the same jutsu-preventing cuffs Boruto had been wearing during his interrogation.

Amado pulls out the same rhetorical toolbox he used to manipulate Kawaki in the previous chapter. He opens by saying he was surprised to learn Koji survived the fight against Isshiki, even more surprised by the manifestation of Prescience. With this introduction, he reminds Koji that they used to be allies while also putting himself in a position of power, letting Koji know that he has inside information on his abilities without explaining how he gained it. The message is clear—he can spy on Koji and Boruto's activities whenever he wants, so there's no use denying it.

Just as he did with Kawaki, berating him for overdoing it during the battle with Mamushi due to the second power-up he demanded, Amado points out the weak points in Prescience. The entire kidnapping plan was a message to Koji, demonstrating that he's gotten cocky by relying on visions that are outdated almost as soon as they manifest—and he's right. Koji accepted the scroll flash drive from Inojin, thinking he could hang onto it until his next update would tell him if it was safe, not realizing the danger he was putting himself in by teleporting it to his location.

For his part, Koji does an excellent job of maintaining a flat face during the conversation, not reacting to Amado's needling or showing emotions in response to what he says (Sai should take notes).

Some Sort of Parental Love

We see the difference between Kawaki and Koji's responses to Amado's taunts, the latter cutting through the bullshit immediately to ask, "What is your intention, Amado?"

Amado reveals that while Koji was in shutdown mode, he altered his brainwaves with a sonographic procedure, hyper-charging Prescience to make updates come more frequently. He justifies his actions two ways: first by explaining that it will benefit their cause if Koji has more up-to-date intel, and second, by saying, "Despite how this seems, I am your creator, your birth parent, so I feel this comes from some sort of parental love."

Like so many lines that feel out-of-place and a bit random in TBV, this one is imbued with meaning. Going back to my chapter 35 review, I wrote about cuteness being part of a parental instinct, but Hidari classifies cats as cute, living animals with their own notoriously fickle personalities, while Amado calls his Scientific Ninja Toad creations cute, saying, "I have complete control over them." For one, love exists to be free; for the other, love exists to be controlled.

That observation bears out in chapter 36 when Amado calls his nonconsensual manipulation of Koji's brain a form of parental love. He doesn't explain why it would benefit Koji or protect him. Rather, Amado sees making his creation more efficient and useful to be the prerogative of a parent. While we're questioning how Amado views parenthood, it might be a good time to reflect on what Akebi means to him. Back in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (NNG), Amado depicted himself as a bereft father, driven mad by his grief, willing to do anything to bring his daughter back to the world. However, when it comes to Koji, Amado claims to have parental love for him but didn't seem to mourn his death at the hands of Isshiki—a death Amado planned for him without divulging the details to Koji. Given this context, I think we should heap some additional suspicion onto Amado's attempts to revive his daughter. Is his only goal to alleviate his own grief, or is there some other objective to bringing her back to life?

Amado himself evokes Akebi almost immediately after dropping his parental love line, asking Koji to look at the clone of her body in the lab, waiting for the day Kawaki imbues it with her memories and genetic data. My favorite panels in chapter 36 are the ones that depict the future Amado is working towards, one in which Kawaki lays his palm on the panel, implanting Karma into Akebi, a diamond manifesting on her forehead, matching both Sakura's byakugou seal and the location Amado chose for Delta's Roman numeral, later altered to a triangular leaf village symbol.

When Amado asks Koji if he's ever seen a future in which Kawaki resurrects Akebi, he replies that he hasn't. In all futures, Jura is created, and in the majority of them, Kawaki is killed. With that information, Amado thanks Koji, says he's looking forward to the next Prescience update, and releases him while Shikamaru stands outside the lab, cursing Amado for changing the code to the door again.

Cocky Men

There's a few things about this exchange I feel the need to point out. First of all, we soon find out that Amado was lying by omission about the extent to which he meddled with Prescience. From Koji's exchanges with Boruto, we also know he often keeps key pieces of information to himself, telling just enough of the truth to get what he wants—a trait he might have learned from Amado. Taking this into consideration, it's possible he's telling Amado part of the truth, but not all of it.

Here's an example: Koji might know that they need Amado's Scientific Ninja Tools to assist Kawaki. He also might know that when Kawaki revives Akebi, a new Otsutsuki is born rather than his daughter, so he's not technically lying while still framing things in a way that will make Amado want to continue to assist Kawaki.

But the thing I really want to point out is that what Amado says about Koji's blind spot is true for him as well—both men act as if the visions have not constantly been subject to change, often influenced by acts of love to lead to futures that would have been impossible without the feelings of humans. Koji acknowledges this to some extent, telling Shikamaru that he must follow his heart to achieve the best future, but he also tries to control Boruto so he won't take actions that go beyond his visions. He has more faith in Prescience than he does in people.

Similarly, Amado is treating Prescience as though having more information sooner will be a benefit rather than something that could prevent the best possible outcomes. Kawaki showing up in the Sand was unforeseen by Koji, but allowed Boruto to save as many people as possible—and not to die. Inojin's new jutsu was created in response to a future in which Himawari died, meaning that when he blinded himself in that particular timeline, he lost his eyes. However, he comes to the same conclusion while she's still alive, allowing her to save his sight and preventing both her death as well as Eida's.

Update Me

Boruto returns from Konoha via Flying Raijin and is shocked to find Koji's usual settee unoccupied. Once again, we're finally seeing a bit more emotion from the two main characters in this arc, a welcome change from their usual range of stoic faces. Here, Boruto looks younger for once, unsure and surprised to find Koji missing from their hideout. I think this short scene also adds context to the Boruto and Koji relationship. Though it can be tense at times, both of them keeping their respective secrets, Boruto has come to rely on Koji and is concerned about his wellbeing. His dumbfounded reaction when Koji returns tells us that the former Kara member rarely leaves the hideout, staying in the same seat day after day.

Aware that he's racing against the clock, Koji quickly contacts Inojin to get connected with Shikamaru and Eida, requesting that she review everything Amado did while he was unconscious. Unfortunately, before he's able to learn anything, Koji's eyes roll up and he falls into Boruto's arms, seized by a Prescience update.

The drama of this scene explains why Koji has spent almost the entirety of TBV sitting in Orochimaru's hideout (with the exception of Boruto's Flying Raijin training, during which he's also seated while outside). Despite the immense benefits provided by Prescience, it's also essentially a disability akin to a seizure disorder. At any time and with little warning, Koji can be taken over by visions that cause him to collapse. Orochimaru's hideout. The settee. His hood being up. All these things were meant to negate the effects of Prescience. Koji had to give up the previous shinobi activities he displayed in NNG due to his Shinjutsu ability, getting Boruto and his toads to act as proxies for him. While Amado claimed to be altering Koji out of love, what his cerebral tinkering has done is render his "child" even more vulnerable than before. Though the lag time between updates created a blind spot for Koji, increasing their frequency exposes him to additional danger as well.

"Something Helpful"

During this scene, we also learn that super-charging Koji's brainwaves wasn't the only thing Amado did. As the update seizes Koji, we see two panels of Amado in his lab. Rather than standing, he's seated against his exam table, shoulders hunched, his face turned away from the viewer as though he's watching something unseen.

In the chapter 35 review, I discussed Amado's history of suspicious behavior in NNG as it related to the possible remote control of Scientific Ninja Tools to trigger events and using his glasses to see events through the eyes of others. I suspect what he's done here is connect Koji's brainwaves to his glasses as well. While it's possible that he's linked minds with Koji to share his updates, we don't see Amado going through the full physical response that that Prescience usually brings. This returns to my speculation at the beginning of the chapter that Amado might be gathering Shinjutsu from the humans he experimented on.

That Girl

While Koji is in the throes of an update, Boruto supporting his body, Sarada is strutting down the streets of Konoha, remembering her previous conversation with Boruto about allowing herself to be kidnapped by Code. We see her taking initiative, using her Sharingan to ascertain where claw marks might be hidden, purposefully taking a path that will allow Code to abduct her without witnesses.

What's expected is Code making his move, leaping down to land on Sarada's back, using a clawed-hand to force her face-first into one of his marks. What's unexpected? The new bone growth protruding from Code's lost hand appears to be able to detect Boruto's chakra and telekinetically remove the marked pins he gave to Sarada, which he was going to use to teleport to her once Code took her to the Shinju's hideout. Realizing the danger she's in, Sarada attempts to activate her Mangekyo Sharingan, but Code quickly forces her head into a claw mark, negating whatever power she was about to use by obscuring her eyes.

A Future in Disarray

Koji's update is influenced by recent events: Kobu's meeting, Boruto's plan, Sarada's kidnapping. I'm going to try to break down the future hints we see in each of the three panels of film-stock visions.

• Shikamaru's Position: Koji has previously stated that Shikamaru should remain Hokage to ensure the best possible future. However, we see the possibility that he loses the position, represented by Kobu's face and the Hokage's hat. In the visions below, we see an annoyed Konohamaru speaking with someone and the flash of a Hokage's cloak. Moegi seems to be present in this scenario as well when Jura confronts Shikamaru while holding a wine glass.
• Wine Glass: While Jura's boozing could just be an extension of his appreciation for human culture, I don't want to dismiss the previous times wine has appeared in the series, in the hand of Isshiki (or Jigen, when controlled by Isshiki). In both these scenes, Isshiki accessed Daikokuten to get his wine, making a new dinner table appear after it was destroyed by Delta and having a celebratory glass after defeating Koji. Depicting Jura with a wine glass could be a hint that he's figured out a way to access Naruto in Daikokuten (via Isshiki's blocks, perhaps?), and he's sitting down with Shikamaru to discuss his victory.
• Boruto's Plan: The one thing that remains unchanged in this future is that we see Sarada confronting Hidari and a similar sequence of events unfolding, blood streaming from her Mangekyo Sharingan, Hidari's hand reaching out towards her. What appears different is the implication that this fight goes horribly wrong. We see Sarada's earring on the ground, a hand picking it up. In another series of panels, it appears that Sumire is watching the same sequence of events through her computer screen (though somehow a Claw Grime is also featured). In the corner of another panel, we see a scene of the lower half of Sarada's legs positioned near a panel of a hand, dripping blood.
• End Game: In this future, it also appears as though Kawaki confronts Jura and is devoured, represented by a cell of Jura's foot, Kawaki's activated Kokugan, then the roots of a massive divine tree appearing afterwards. (Though if we consider the wine-glass theory, this could also be Kawaki seeing Naruto consumed by a Divine Tree after Jura obtains his target.)
• Additions: A group of Konoha Shinobi appear to confront a large Divine Tree (maybe Jura using his wood-style jutsu in Konoha again or discovering a new individual consumed by the Claw Grime in the Sumire panels—Sumire, Himawari, Moegi again?) Himawari is a possibility as we also see her featured in these visions, though it's unclear what appears in the previous panel (someone suggested it's Daemon's hair).
• BoruShiki's Return: What's featured most prominently, and Koji's sign that everything is about to go horribly wrong, is a cell depicting the return of BoruShiki, TBV's Boruto fully taken over by Momoshiki as Kawaki looks on, his Karma fully activated. It's heavily implied by the bloody hand and lost earring that Sarada's defeat leads to Momoshiki taking over Boruto, but the scene of Himawari's involvement leaves the door open to other possibilities as well.

What this update tells Koji is that Boruto's plan to have Sarada kidnapped by Code is going to go horrifically wrong. He asks Boruto to listen calmly to what will happen, but before he can finish what he's saying, Boruto uses his Flying Raijin to teleport to Sarada's location, discovering to his horror the two pins he gave her lying on a claw mark on the ground.

Speculation, Questions, Conclusions

• At the very beginning of this review, I drew similarities between the TBV covers featuring Amado and Shikamaru. One possible theory (beyond Ikemoto liking the green/tan color scheme) is that Amado tries to gain a stake in the village leadership in the power vacuum created by Kobu's meddling. I suspect that Koji will be too busy with possible-end-of-the-world business to get involved in political machinations, leaving that avenue of influence open to Amado's manipulations, positioning his Scientific Ninja Tool capabilities as a replacement for the unruly and treacherous shinobi system.
• When Koji tells Boruto that his plan to have Code kidnap Sarada will fail, we realize that this particular avenue wasn't dictated by what Koji envisioned as the best possible future. Rather, it was an alternative conceived of and executed by Boruto (similar to him getting Kawaki involved in the Sand arc). Boruto's actions throughout TBV have felt as though they're rushed, as though he senses that he's running out of time and makes choices based on that feeling. He could have laid the plan out for Sarada and asked her to avoid getting kidnapped until he gives the word (confirming with Koji's visions that it's a good idea); however both he and Sarada rush into action almost as soon as the plan is hatched.
• For the past few arcs, I've been saying that the narrative needs to break the pattern of Koji's visions being subverted and everything turning out okay in the end, but this is a terrible way for it to happen.
• With the Claw Grime appearing in Koji's visions, I suspect we might get a new Shinju before the story is over.
• Jura is clearly enjoying his time as a sentient being, which makes me wonder what would trigger his decision to consume Kawaki and end the world. Is it grief over losing Hidari? Does Kawaki confront him, maybe after he consumes Naruto or Himawari, and their battle necessitates eating him?
• If Jura is out drinking with Shikamaru, is he going to try smoking as well?
• Who is going to be on the TBV volume 9 cover?!
• When Code shoved Sarada through a claw mark, how is he going to stop her from using her MS against him whenever they get where they're going? Claw mark over the eyes?
• What exactly is the ability of Code's new bone-growth weapon?
• Now that Amado knows there currently isn't a future in which Kawaki revives his daughter, what will his next steps be? Is he going to try to gain more control over him? Work harder to ensure his survival? Try to gain access to his powers as he's done to Koji?
• Does Sarada leave the earring behind to help Boruto find her or is it a symbol of her defeat?
• How are we going to survive a two-month break until the next chapter?! (I jest about this, but it's the first break in production Ikemoto is taking since TBV started in August of 2023, so we should accept the man taking a month off with grace. Maybe he wants to take a vacation. Or have a skin cancer removed. Or his mom is sick. Who knows! But he deserves the break even if we're left on one heck of a cliffhanger.)