Title: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Vol. 17
Author: Masahi Kishimoto (Creator), Mikio Ikemoto (Art), Ukyo Kodachi (Story)
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Digital
Pages: 176
Genre: Shonen, Battle
Publication Date: August 1, 2023
The Story
Boruto and Kawaki are in the middle of fighting Code. Boruto is able to call upon his Karma without Momoshiki awakening… for now. As the fight goes on, Boruto loses control, and Momoshiki, indeed, takes over his body. Naruto ends up locating Boruto so he and Shikamaru head to the scene of the fight. When they arrive, Boruto is already out of control and Code takes advantage and holds Shikamaru hostage. It’s a sticky situation but Boruto eventually wins a mental battle and becomes himself again. That’s when he tells Kawaki to execute their last resort plan.
With the plan executed, Code’s plans are thwarted. Kawaki refuses to let him escape and begins to battle him. He does so by awakening a brand-new Karma… the one that Amado said he could give him that would purely be a weapon. This new Karma is very powerful since it was modeled after a certain someone. Using it, Kawaki overpowers Code and forces him to escape.
When the battle is over, Boruto ended up taking a massive risk with his new plan but it paid off. However, the aftermath of his plan is both good and bad. Now, Boruto must prepare himself to deal with the fallout of the huge risk he took and it could spell disaster should Code realize how he was duped.
Characters
There wasn’t much in the way of character development per se since this was a volume packed with fighting from beginning to end and what was considered character development would venture into heavy spoiler territory.
I will say that we did learn that Kawaki is the type of person who will not hesitate to pull the trigger. If you say ‘go,’ he will go. Plus, we also see his obsession with Naruto. While he started off as a troubled kid, he has really grown attached to and is grateful to Naruto for giving him a new lease on life. So much so, that he is willing to literally do anything for Naruto… including executing Boruto’s last resort plan without any second thought to it whatsoever. It’s also why he accepted Amado’s offer to restore his Karma… so he could use it to protect Naruto. While, at least in Kawaki’s mind, his actions are noble, they are also highly questionable and unethical at times. It’ll be interesting to see what happens from here… especially when Amado’s involvement raises more questions about his motives.
Final Thoughts
The storm has passed but they are not in the clear. It was interesting how Momoshiki was also factored into Boruto’s plan (or if Momoshiki’s involvement was just pure dumb luck.) Because as such, Boruto just received a nice power-up; however, if Code realizes this, they better prepare for an all-out war. Besides, Code mentioned that he needs his limiters removed and the only person who can do that is Amado. That seems pretty suspicious… could this be part of some sort of hidden agenda with Amado? Is Kawaki’s Karma, and Code’s limiters linked together in some sort of grand scheme?
It’s too early to tell but Amado is definitely up to something. Daemon also hasn’t played much of a role yet neither has Eida. Lest we keep in mind that they, too, have a vested interest in Kawaki… but theirs are a bit different. While Code would love to just throw Kawaki at the Ten-Tails, Eida will not allow it. In some sort of twisted way, Kawaki has some form of protection against Code. That just leaves Boruto to contend with.
The next volume seems to be a cooldown period. Code is busy regrouping and scheming about his limiters so now we’ll probably get an info dump on Boruto’s new power-up and what they are going to do with Kawaki over his actions in executing Boruto’s plan without hesitation… if any action is going to taken at all. Should be an interesting ride in Volume 18!
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This item was purchased for review.
