Boruto Hints At Romance For Major Series Villain, And It Changes Naruto Lore Forever

Naruto and its sequel stories have always been at least somewhat conscious of romantic subtext, even beyond the overt cases like its characters growing up and getting married. This is the case despite Masashi Kishimoto's franchise being deeply rooted as one of the most definitive battle shonen series in existence, with Boruto's co-creator now carrying the torch in their latest shared project. For Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, one key interaction teases an important new bond which, while not guaranteed to be romantic, certainly carries similar energies to older friendships on the timeline.

In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, friendship and love in multiple forms, be it platonic, familial, or romantic, have been recurring themes as aggressively as they were in Naruto's heyday. But what's setting it apart this time is the emerging bond between two villains, the Human Divine Trees (or Shinju) Jura and Hidari recently shared an exchange strongly resembling Naruto's occasionally overbearing expressions of friendship and quasi-brotherly loyalty to Sasuke. While the series is a shonen manga and unlikely to take the BL route, it's undeniably a loaded moment sure to set off fujoshis and fudanshis; but behind the fanshipping, it might set up a new path for Jura in particular.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Teases Love Among Its Villains (But Don't Expect It To Stick)

In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter #35, reflecting on the death of Mamushi (and Bug in the process) Jura and Hidari noted Mamushi's warped form of love for Eida, driving him to consume her while hoping the Shinju would propagate further as a species. But rather than linger on this, Hidari chooses to ask why Jura, who could have collected Mamushi, Ryu, and Matsuri's Thorn Soul Bulbs, only chose to save his instead after being killed by Boruto and Kawaki in chapter #12. Jura responds by confessing that, in the moment, he imagined a world without Hidari, and it caused him immense sadness. Teased by Jura about whether this gives him the "ick", Hidari accepts it.

At face value, this easily qualifies as bromance, with just enough ambiguity and subtext to playfully imply, without any commitment, something more. It's amusing considering Hidari bears shades of his chakra template, Sasuke, particularly his personality and confirmed mutual adoration for cats, making him no stranger to recurring displays of affection reasonably construed as queerbaiting. But while the tease of romance is entirely in interpretations of the subtext, Jura is being direct with his love for Hidari as a fellow Shinju, whether influenced by his drive to consume Naruto and protect his Sasuke counterpart, or to initiate something more sinister.

Jura has spent dozens of chapters in the series now observing romantic love and its ability to cloud one's judgment, such as the case of Matsuri, or empower one's fighting spirit, such as with Himawari Uzumaki and Sarada Uchiha. While it's clear he's trying to grasp that feeling properly, it appears he may be contriving the next steps for his potential enlightenment.

Jura's Been Referring To Love For Years Now

Despite emerging early in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, Jura has remained the prevailing series antagonist so far, being their true alpha while also their intellectual leader with his observations on humanity. This has included his debriefs such as on his fight with Himawari, in which Team 10 risked their lives to protect her, with Inojin Yamanaka's particular injuries only being reversed by Kurama's chakra. He notes that these rash actions were driven by love, drawing parallels between this fight and Matsuri's foolish devotion to Konohamaru Sarutobi in chapter #19. In chapter #22, Jura even states to Boruto that it's both a uniquely human source of weakness and an indicator of their higher intelligence.

But Jura appears to be chasing that feeling, both to chase a similarly heightened sense of existence, and to chase the flipside of such a love if taken away. Whether Jura's love for Hidari is out of friendship or romance is immaterial; he wants to experience it, regardless. Boruto even said that without the capacity to love, they would be nothing more than mere trees. But what Jura is really after is to put that love to a true test in the form of loss. This all comes back to chapter #35, where Hidari is urged by Jura not to disappear on him. Jura may want to create a scenario in which he's close enough to Hidari to be devastated when he loses him.

With instances like Himawari tapping into Kurama's power, and Sarada unleashing her Mangekyo Sharingan, alongside historical examples in the Naruto universe of characters unlocking their potential after horrific trauma, Jura appears to seek this out. While there are certainly loving, aromantic bonds between antagonists in the universe such as Zabuza and Haku, or Nagato and Konan, one hasn't been contrived to intentionally set up loss quite like Jura may be attempting. The closest anybody has come to something similar was Obito Uchiha after witnessing Rin Nohara's death. If this is indeed Jura's plan, it's not only absolutely diabolical; it could unleash even more power.

Boruto's Strongest Villain Could Be Setting Up His Own Power-Up

Witnessing Himawari's grief at the sight of Inojin's impalement in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, Jura has seen for years' worth of chapters what love and loss can do for somebody. After all, Himawari is seen being regularly visited by Inojin in later chapters, a consistent source of comfort while she continues to be alone due to Boruto being on the run, as well as Naruto and Hinata's predicament. Himawari, for a brief moment, witnessed a world without Inojin, tapping into potential she didn't know she had. It's a very Dragon Ball-coded moment, but it's also got plenty of precedent in the Naruto universe, with Jura only standing to benefit from such an evolution.

This has been the case ever since instances like Indra Otsutsuki killing his closest friends to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan, or Sasuke once he defeated Itachi. It was a devastating loss that unlocked greater potential for them. Even Sarada, who originally awakened her Mangekyo in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, did so as a response to the fear of losing the one she loved. Even Konohamaru

remained steadfast in his dedication to Moegi Kazamatsuri, for fear of losing her in the place of Divine Tree Matsuri. Love and loss, or even the potential of it, may limit humans, but it's also what separates them from the Divine Trees in Boruto, and Jura wants in.

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  First Film

  Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

  Latest Film

  Boruto: Naruto the Movie

  First TV Show

  Naruto

  Latest TV Show

  Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

  First Episode Air Date

  
  October 3, 2002
  

  Cast

  Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei

  Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.

  
  

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  Writer

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Writers

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Penciler(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Inker(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Colorist(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Publisher(s)

  Viz Media

  Years after fleeing his village with Sasuke, Boruto returns to confront the dark changes that have occurred. With memories altered and Kawaki now seen as the hero, Boruto faces a world where he is the outcast. The two rivals must settle their differences as their Otsutsuki powers grow more dangerous.