Naruto/Boruto Griefing Thread

[Gorillion others]

Sure that's fair. Naruto is far from perfect and has major flaws. I just think considering it's length and the sheer volume of good it has, it averages out to a very good series overall, and one that's better than most others.
My reason for highlighting the early part is that it's about as long as the current popular ones are, and they've all simultaneously failed to be as good and also suffered large drops in quality, highlighting just how impressive works like Naruto, DB and One Piece are for staying that good for that long.

The reason why the early parts were good and consistent is because none of the crap that tainted its quality hadn't happened yet. Kishimoto had everything laid out, but he squandered it.

 

[Incecticyder]

Sure that's fair. Naruto is far from perfect and has major flaws. I just think considering it's length and the sheer volume of good it has, it averages out to a very good series overall, and one that's better than most others.
My reason for highlighting the early part is that it's about as long as the current popular ones are, and they've all simultaneously failed to be as good and also suffered large drops in quality, highlighting just how impressive works like Naruto, DB and One Piece are for staying that good for that long.

That is a good arguement. I think that it is good that we shifted to long from super-long series. Not to mention how the most impactful moments for me in Naruto were in Part 2. Jiraiya 's death, Iruka comforting Naruto, Hinata confessing her love while preparing to fight Pain and the rage afterwards. In the Last, Naruto asking Iruka to be his dad. Sarada unlocking the Sharingan though joy rather than sadness, signifing a new era for the Uchiha (their powers were said to be unlocked and strengthened by intense emotion so why not joy and happiness?). Honestly, while I do not believe that Naruto matches One Piece and Bleach when it comes to continuity or characterisation, I think the feels are on point. Kishimoto is to me someone whose head has ideas that are better than the stuff he puts on paper. He needs an editor to filter the bad ideas from the good.

 

[Gorillion others]

That is a good arguement. I think that it is good that we shifted to long from super-long series. Not to mention how the most impactful moments for me in Naruto were in Part 2. Jiraiya 's death, Iruka comforting Naruto, Hinata confessing her love while preparing to fight Pain and the rage afterwards. In the Last, Naruto asking Iruka to be his dad. Sarada unlocking the Sharingan though joy rather than sadness, signifing a new era for the Uchiha (their powers were said to be unlocked and strengthened by intense emotion so why not joy and happiness?). Honestly, while I do not believe that Naruto matches One Piece and Bleach when it comes to continuity or characterisation, I think the feels are on point. Kishimoto is to me someone whose head has ideas that are better than the stuff he puts on paper. He needs an editor to filter the bad ideas from the good.

"Good on paper" is the best way to put it. He had a lot of ideas that could have been done better, but what we got was...well, what we got. Admittedly, I used to be enthralled by "his" writing, but after Naruto, once he got a bit more creative freedom to work on Samurai 8, that was when I started to see the flaws in his style. Without a good editor, his overall skill is average to mediocre.

 

[Incecticyder]

The Promised Bad Manga Thread is live.

https://embed.kiwifarms.st/threads/bad-manga-thread.195450/

 

[Incecticyder]

Merphy Napier releashed her final Naruto review.

She considers it a series of high highs and low lows. Neither negates the other however, while she will reread her favourite moments from time to time, she will not be doing any full reread of the story. She started sensing things were wrong during the War Arc as she was struggling to understand the plans of the bad guys (at some parts she even asks if the whole thing is convoluted and hard to understand or if she is just stupid) and people were getting redemptions left and right. Overall, she like it and sometimes she even loved it but it does not sit amongst her favourite series.

Pretty balanced takes.

 

[Gorillion others]

You are talking about impact. And yes, those were amazing but part of what made them so great was the promise of greater things to come. A mediocre pay-off can taint a great set-up retroactively. Where is the worldbuilding that was set-up in the land of Waves? Non-ninja military organisations were retconed. The cast of the of the Chunnin Exam? Most were underutilised despite how interesting they were in both skill and personality. Though I would hesitate to call everything in Shippuden bad. Part 1 had its flaws and Part 2 had its strengths.


If you get remove the things people do not like about a story, then that story is perfect. You cannot ask others to ignore flaws. We must take the good and the bad as sometimes the imperfections serve to improve on the strengths. And at the same time we have to accept the opposite. That the strengths can highlight the imperfections.

Stanley, along with wtfneedsignup are massive Naruto fans who can't seem to understand fully that Naruto wasn't as great as they still believe it to be. There have been other Shonen that have emulated its formula and have done a better job (despite their own inherent flaws), and because the writer doesn't limit themselves in ways that are obvious (like Kishimoto's glaring shortcomings with female characters). The only thing that people really cared about was Ninjas fighting Ninjas before it decided to break its own power system and world building.

Is it a good series? If you confine it to the demographic it's supposed to be marketed to, that being little children, then yes, that's how far it can be considered "good".

Speaking of which, this is apparently Ikemoto's contribution to the DBS cover gallery.

 

[Incecticyder]

Stanley, along with wtfneedsignup are massive Naruto fans who can't seem to understand fully that Naruto wasn't as great as they still believe it to be. There have been other Shonen that have emulated its formula and have done a better job (despite their own inherent flaws), and because the writer doesn't limit themselves in ways that are obvious (like Kishimoto's glaring shortcomings with female characters). The only thing that people really cared about was Ninjas fighting Ninjas before it decided to break its own power system and world building.

Is it a good series? If you confine it to the demographic it's supposed to be marketed to, that being little children, then yes, that's how far it can be considered "good".

Speaking of which, this is apparently Ikemoto's contribution to the DBS cover gallery.

View attachment 6176761

Naruto is the Harry Potter of Manga. Great introduction to its medium but it does not live up to scrutiny as you get older. Also, this is a good drawing. He draws so much better when he does not do his favoured overdesigned outfits or his knock-off Jojo, modelesque poses.

 

[Whirus]

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1814044787269423203

This crossover makes so much sense but came out of nowhere

 

[Gorillion others]

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1814044787269423203

View attachment 6207005
This crossover makes so much sense but came out of nowhere

Fanfiction already did this.

 

[Whirus]

Fanfiction already did this.

That's a given but this is Official

TMNT going to Naruto's world is cool but I kinda want to see Naruto accidently going to New York

 

[Gorillion others]

That's a given but this is Official

TMNT going to Naruto's world is cool but I kinda want to see Naruto accidently going to New York

If Masashi Kishimoto ends up writing this, expect a lot of crying and "feelings". He can't seem to ever let go of the "dark paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!!!" nonsense.

 

[Incecticyder]

Read the new chapter. Boruto 's new Rasengan looks better at full power but it is still technobabble. Also, it reads like half a chapter. You could have told me it was a weekly manga and I would have believed you. Kishi and Ike should have never done the Omnipotense plot. At least not the way they did.

 

[Gorillion others]

Read the new chapter. Boruto 's new Rasengan looks better at full power but it is still technobabble. Also, it reads like half a chapter. You could have told me it was a weekly manga and I would have believed you. Kishi and Ike should have never done the Omnipotense plot. At least not the way they did.

So, basically padding.

 

[Incecticyder]

So, basically padding.

Yes. It feels like they are trying to buy time to fix a storyline no one likes/is not as flexible as they thought. They were driven into a corner with a botched plotpoint that they put no thought in. It looks like they decided on the in-universe retcon too early. As an audience member, I do not feel like I am on the edge of my seat to see how Boruto will find a way out of the false memory predicament. I feel like a bunch of people are misunderstanding one another. Think of it like a bad version of the Fullbring Arc from Bleach. False memory arcs have been done well but this one feels like it is dragging on Kawaki being a little piece of shit does not help either.

All in all, the fact that Omnipotense affected so many people is hurting the story. It is removing allies, both past and future, which hurts any opportunity for a supporting cast and creates plotholes that remove possible solutions to Omnipotense when retconed leaving us stuck with it. One solution to it would be making Omnipotense fade over time as the mind heals from its effects. A sort of aquired mental immunity/resistance in order to make the plot move forward because it has stopped to a crawl now.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

Boruto Chapter 12 dropped today and I have a lot to say. You know what? I hate this chapter. This is going to be a wall of autism. Here we go frens.

The chapter starts off with a cover page of Sumire. She has blue hair now. Strange change from the purple. I don't like it. I liked her purple aesthetic more. Paying attention to the actual art though you can really spot the difference between Ikemoto and Kishimoto here. Kishi's character designs are a lot simpler but with sleeker portions and with bright expressions. Ikemoto has much more rounded faces and I'd say a lot more detailed features. But there's just something soulless about them and I really can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's because he's obsessed with this dead pan expressionless look. I'm not saying one is superior to the other but it's just very strange how much they actually contrast. As artist's they're almost nothing alike. Which is unusual for a mentor relationship.

This is mostly a fighting chapter with a splash of idiocy and nonsensical stuff at the end. We're back into the hard to follow fight choreography again. It's not as egregious as previous fights, but it's still not great. It's a little difficult to follow when the Claw Grimes show up.

Boruto shows up to save Sarada. Sasuke attacks him, but he blocks and does.......something. It SAYS he does wind style, but fuck me I couldn't tell if he did anything. Is Boruto a Jedi? Did he use the force? Is there an error? Did Ike forget to add a visual cue? Or does he just hate visual cues? Uzuhiko has a visual cue. (Oh we'll get to that nightmare soon enough) But why not this? There's just no spectacle here. Boruto vs. Mizuki got spectacle, it's the biggest and most impressive fight in the series to date. I wonder if Ikemoto just hates big bombastic blasts and that's why the action sucks so much. The anime for a long time has had to pad out his fights to make them not look like snoozefests.

Sasuke sinks into the claw marks for a moment and we cut to Delta and Kawaki in the sky floating, looking at Jura. Kawaki has his magically disappearing stupid belt collar again. Delta relays that Jura is just standing there and they don't know what he's planning. Kawaki says Boruto must've teleported away. They basically stand there wondering what Jura is doing. It's funny, a few chapters ago Boruto sucks with Flying Thunder God and here he's an expert with virtually nothing changing.

We cut back to Sarada and Boruto. Konohamaru chastises Boruto for showing up and suspects his intentions. Sarada tells him to use reason. Konohamaru seems to listen and tells Boruto that Sasuke can use claw marks like Code. After some more infighting, Sarada says Sasuke was trying to devour her and asks if he's related to the real Sasuke becoming a tree. Boruto clarifies by saying Tree Sasuke is alive by using the real Sasuke as a chakra source. He also tells them not to hold back or concern yourselves with that and to take him down if they want to save the real Sasuke. Implying that the two are not connected, meaning Tree Sasuke isn't the real Sasuke and their lives are not connected in any way, thus sucking ALL tension completely out of this story and arc. Konohamaru asks how Boruto knows all this. And you know what? I'd really like to know that too.

This blows. The arc is pretty much dead here. Half the fun and dramatic tension of these Treefolk are the fact that they're characters that our cast doesn't want to harm. If what we'll see later in this chapter is correct, destroying these Tree people does absolutely NOTHING to the original and is essential to rescuing them. Meaning there's absolutely no dramatic stakes at all. I was hoping we would get some actual tension from Sasuke and Sarada. Yes, it's cliche for Sarada to do the whole "I don't want to hurt you Dad!" bit but it's absolutely necessary for this arc and the characters to actually get development. Otherwise these guys are no different than the claw Grimes. I don't understand it. This decision just baffles me. It's like they talked themselves out of telling an actual story. All about fighting. There's room here to tell a story. These tree people ARE interesting. But this is all we get from this idea? Fuck you, Ikemoto. Also, how does Boruto know this? These Tree People are an unforeseen consequence of Code abusing the Divine Tree, how could Kashin Koji find out so much about them? They were just born literally yesterday. I ask because I know we're not going to get a good explanation.

Anyway, all that aside...Tree Sasuke summons Claw Grimes to fight everyone. Boruto warms Sarada that if Sasuke is after her, to be careful. Boruto does seem confusing looking flips and Sarada.... Immediately gets captured. Hilarious. Boruto Flying Raijins again to save her. Sasuke goes into a claw marks to heal and we actually get to see it this time. He's actually teleporting back to their base, and the Divine Trees branches are healing him. Neat. We didn't need an explanation for that, but it's nice we got one. Now we have a chekov's gun though and I'm not sure we'll use it.

Boruto says he's going to use the Uzuhiko to take out Sasuke. Sarada asks what that is and we get a better explanation for it this time. While Boruto is focusing and standing on the ground, he can channel the centrifugal force of the Earth and compress it into his body as a conduit for a Rasengan. While this process takes some time though, there is absolutely no limit to its power. Meaning there's absolutely no tension to this story. It can kill Tree Sasuke in one hit. Basically, the Uzuhiko is being retconned into a Spirit Bomb. And he can also turn it on and off once he hits someone with it. Somehow. They all agree to buy Boruto some time. Konohamaru uses his awesome Rasen-Barrier technique. Seriously, this thing is cool. Why couldn't Uzuhiko look this cool?

Well, I take that back actually. Ikemoto listened to criticism and gave Uzuhiko a visual upgrade. After some fighting, Boruto's not ready but he decides to launch it anyway. It turns into a giant cyclone this time, and well...At least it has more impact than last time. Tree Sasuke survives though only for Kawaki to show up and crush his head, killing him. The streak is broken. Kawaki was useful for once. A small fruit-like seed thing forms, Boruto asks Kashin Koji what it is and he says it's a Thorn Soul Bulb, claiming he's seen it before? Somehow? He takes it, and says it's necessary to save Sasuke. Kawaki is about engage Boruto when suddenly, Boruto is shot by a laser through the chest. Jura is taking shots from afar, while Delta...does absolutely nothing about it. Sarada tries to get the Bulb but also gets 360 No Scoped. The Bulb flies off back to Jura and he decides that Boruto is dangerous to be left alive.

Boruto is now "infinitely powerful" as deemed by YouTubers. The story arc is dead in the water. The tension is gone. This is just going through motions at this point.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

Read the new chapter. Boruto 's new Rasengan looks better at full power but it is still technobabble. Also, it reads like half a chapter. You could have told me it was a weekly manga and I would have believed you. Kishi and Ike should have never done the Omnipotense plot. At least not the way they did.

This is just the pace for this story. We move at snails pace in this manga. What other comics would get done in 20, it takes Boruto 40.

 

[Gorillion others]

Boruto

I got a headache reading all of that. Not because of what you wrote, but because the "plot" isn't plot anymore. It's nonsense. Plain, simple nonsense. Even when I try to turn off my brain, there's this punishing synapse that maintains my engagement and causes a malfunction. Not even my old Naruto loving ass would read this shit because it doesn't make a lick of sense.

 

[Incecticyder]

The chapter starts off with a cover page of Sumire. She has blue hair now. Strange change from the purple. I don't like it. I liked her purple aesthetic more. Paying attention to the actual art though you can really spot the difference between Ikemoto and Kishimoto here. Kishi's character designs are a lot simpler but with sleeker portions and with bright expressions. Ikemoto has much more rounded faces and I'd say a lot more detailed features. But there's just something soulless about them and I really can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's because he's obsessed with this dead pan expressionless look. I'm not saying one is superior to the other but it's just very strange how much they actually contrast. As artist's they're almost nothing alike. Which is unusual for a mentor relationship.

Kishimoto could/was willing to draw a large range of expressions while Ikemoto draws everyone as either worried or dead serious. It is like clothing model catalogs made by an edgelord who dresses everyone in black. That is what makes them feel soulless. They all feel the same. Like statues that all have the same expression.

Boruto shows up to save Sarada. Sasuke attacks him, but he blocks and does.......something. It SAYS he does wind style, but fuck me I couldn't tell if he did anything. Is Boruto a Jedi? Did he use the force? Is there an error? Did Ike forget to add a visual cue? Or does he just hate visual cues? Uzuhiko has a visual cue. (Oh we'll get to that nightmare soon enough) But why not this? There's just no spectacle here. Boruto vs. Mizuki got spectacle, it's the biggest and most impressive fight in the series to date. I wonder if Ikemoto just hates big bombastic blasts and that's why the action sucks so much. The anime for a long time has had to pad out his fights to make them not look like snoozefests.

He propably cannot draw spectacle well or it takes too much out of him.

We cut back to Sarada and Boruto. Konohamaru chastises Boruto for showing up and suspects his intentions. Sarada tells him to use reason. Konohamaru seems to listen and tells Boruto that Sasuke can use claw marks like Code. After some more infighting, Sarada says Sasuke was trying to devour her and asks if he's related to the real Sasuke becoming a tree. Boruto clarifies by saying Tree Sasuke is alive by using the real Sasuke as a chakra source. He also tells them not to hold back or concern yourselves with that and to take him down if they want to save the real Sasuke. Implying that the two are not connected, meaning Tree Sasuke isn't the real Sasuke and their lives are not connected in any way, thus sucking ALL tension completely out of this story and arc. Konohamaru asks how Boruto knows all this. And you know what? I'd really like to know that too.

That can be salvaged by saying that they need to be carefull not to damage the seeds. It will not happen (not with this writing team anyway) but it can have some stakes as it might be hard to destroy the body without killing the seeds in the heat of battle.

This blows. The arc is pretty much dead here. Half the fun and dramatic tension of these Treefolk are the fact that they're characters that our cast doesn't want to harm. If what we'll see later in this chapter is correct, destroying these Tree people does absolutely NOTHING to the original and is essential to rescuing them. Meaning there's absolutely no dramatic stakes at all. I was hoping we would get some actual tension from Sasuke and Sarada. Yes, it's cliche for Sarada to do the whole "I don't want to hurt you Dad!" bit but it's absolutely necessary for this arc and the characters to actually get development. Otherwise these guys are no different than the claw Grimes. I don't understand it. This decision just baffles me. It's like they talked themselves out of telling an actual story. All about fighting. There's room here to tell a story. These tree people ARE interesting. But this is all we get from this idea? Fuck you, Ikemoto. Also, how does Boruto know this? These Tree People are an unforeseen consequence of Code abusing the Divine Tree, how could Kashin Koji find out so much about them? They were just born literally yesterday. I ask because I know we're not going to get a good explanation.

I hesitate to blame Ikemoto for this as I get some serious "Kishimoto Trademark Late-Naruto Laziness" vibes from this. As for Kashin Koji, it was a mistake to make him a clone of Jiraiya. You are drawing comparison to a far more interesting character. As for how he knows, you could have him be familiar with their chakra from his time as a member of Kara.

Anyway, all that aside...Tree Sasuke summons Claw Grimes to fight everyone. Boruto warms Sarada that if Sasuke is after her, to be careful. Boruto does seem confusing looking flips and Sarada.... Immediately gets captured. Hilarious. Boruto Flying Raijins again to save her. Sasuke goes into a claw marks to heal and we actually get to see it this time. He's actually teleporting back to their base, and the Divine Trees branches are healing him. Neat. We didn't need an explanation for that, but it's nice we got one. Now we have a chekov's gun though and I'm not sure we'll use it.

Between Himawari and Sarada, Kishimoto 's tendency to make women being in need of a rescue is alive and well. They are lesser ninja in every sense of the word.

Boruto says he's going to use the Uzuhiko to take out Sasuke. Sarada asks what that is and we get a better explanation for it this time. While Boruto is focusing and standing on the ground, he can channel the centrifugal force of the Earth and compress it into his body as a conduit for a Rasengan. While this process takes some time though, there is absolutely no limit to its power. Meaning there's absolutely no tension to this story. It can kill Tree Sasuke in one hit. Basically, the Uzuhiko is being retconned into a Spirit Bomb. And he can also turn it on and off once he hits someone with it. Somehow. They all agree to buy Boruto some time. Konohamaru uses his awesome Rasen-Barrier technique. Seriously, this thing is cool. Why couldn't Uzuhiko look this cool?

Well, I take that back actually. Ikemoto listened to criticism and gave Uzuhiko a visual upgrade. After some fighting, Boruto's not ready but he decides to launch it anyway. It turns into a giant cyclone this time, and well...At least it has more impact than last time. Tree Sasuke survives though only for Kawaki to show up and crush his head, killing him. The streak is broken. Kawaki was useful for once. A small fruit-like seed thing forms, Boruto asks Kashin Koji what it is and he says it's a Thorn Soul Bulb, claiming he's seen it before? Somehow? He takes it, and says it's necessary to save Sasuke. Kawaki is about engage Boruto when suddenly, Boruto is shot by a laser through the chest. Jura is taking shots from afar, while Delta...does absolutely nothing about it. Sarada tries to get the Bulb but also gets 360 No Scoped. The Bulb flies off back to Jura and he decides that Boruto is dangerous to be left alive.

While it is frustrating that Boruto 's new signature Rasengan is being overshadowed even to this day, I think the fact that no one thought to do something for Jura even though he was acting suspicious is far more infuriating. The man is a menace and they ignored him. Kawaki and/or Delta (A WOMAN DOING SOMETHING? NOT ON KISHI 'S WATCH!!) should have at least tried to take him on.

Boruto is now "infinitely powerful" as deemed by YouTubers. The story arc is dead in the water. The tension is gone. This is just going through motions at this point.

At least they gave him the weakness that it takes time to charge. You and I both know it took some self-control on their behalf.

This is just the pace for this story. We move at snails pace in this manga. What other comics would get done in 20, it takes Boruto 40.

To clarify, the pace is half that of a WEEKLY manga. Not a MONTHLY one. It is 1/4th of what a monthly manga should be like.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

That can be salvaged by saying that they need to be carefull not to damage the seeds. It will not happen (not with this writing team anyway) but it can have some stakes as it might be hard to destroy the body without killing the seeds in the heat of battle.

I don't think it can be salvaged. It should've been if this Tree Person died, the real thing dies as well. Meaning, they can't really harm Tree Sasuke. Instead, they could've had Tree Sasuke slowly regain his memories by interacting and fighting against Sarada and question what he's doing. Maybe he doesn't understand the feelings he gets from those memories, because again he was just born and seriously questions what they're doing. In the end eventually turning on Jura and being instrumental in defeating the Trees. Maybe Konohamaru has the same thing with Moegi, only for Jura to take her out, not tolerating two traitors, really raising stakes.

Bottom line is, there was a way to do this where we would've gotten some dramatic stakes and character development and it honestly seemed for awhile like this was the route we'd go. Then in this chapter though, we don't do that. In fact this might be the last chapter we see of Tree Sasuke.

I got a headache reading all of that. Not because of what you wrote, but because the "plot" isn't plot anymore. It's nonsense. Plain, simple nonsense. Even when I try to turn off my brain, there's this punishing synapse that maintains my engagement and causes a malfunction. Not even my old Naruto loving ass would read this shit because it doesn't make a lick of sense.

I just can't understand the baffling decisions made here. This is such a short sighted decision that ruins what the arc could be later on. I think Kishimoto's fly by the seat writing is responsible. These decisions are just going to cause problems and undermine things later. It's not going to age well when people start asking "What's the point of this arc?" There's no grand story being built up. There's no character development being done here. There's just....nothing.

I hesitate to blame Ikemoto for this as I get some serious "Kishimoto Trademark Late-Naruto Laziness" vibes from this. As for Kashin Koji, it was a mistake to make him a clone of Jiraiya. You are drawing comparison to a far more interesting character. As for how he knows, you could have him be familiar with their chakra from his time as a member of Kara.

At this point I've long given up on anything regarding Kashin Koji making sense. The thing is, there is no answer to "How does Koji know these things" that's satisfying.

The Trees were literally just born yesterday. These things are all Code's creations by messing with the Divine Tree and making the Claw Grimes. Code had no friggin clue this would happen though. It was an anomaly that was a complete accident. Nobody know the Divine Trees could do this. Hell, even the Divine Trees themselves don't fully understand how they came into being. So how Kashin Koji knows anything about these things is way beyond any reasonable doubt. The Trees don't seem to know anything about themselves either, that's why they're so obsessed with finding a purpose. The only possible explanation is that Kashin Koji spies on them and learns of the Bulbs from a conversation they have. But then the question is-when? And that ties into the pacing issue.

To clarify, the pace is half that of a WEEKLY manga. Not a MONTHLY one. It is 1/4th of what a monthly manga should be like.

TBV only takes place over the course of a few days. I'm not even sure 48 hours have passed in-universe time. If 48 hours have passed, 72 hours certainly have not. These have all been very congruent, one after the other.

Since I started writing this response, I decided to go back and re-read earlier chapters. The answer being built up to is that somehow Boruto and Kashin Koji knew all along that Code messing with the Divine Tree would make the Tree People. How they knew it could do this is beyond me. The translation I read seems a bit clearer, and it seems to me like they're heavily hinting at Kashin Koji somehow seeing the future. Him and Boruto have working together ever since Sasuke died to prevent that future. There's a huge allusion to some kind of future-seeing or time traveling being hinted at. Which I can't imagine won't make a dozen plot holes once it finally gets explored.

 

[Incecticyder]

I don't think it can be salvaged. It should've been if this Tree Person died, the real thing dies as well. Meaning, they can't really harm Tree Sasuke. Instead, they could've had Tree Sasuke slowly regain his memories by interacting and fighting against Sarada and question what he's doing. Maybe he doesn't understand the feelings he gets from those memories, because again he was just born and seriously questions what they're doing. In the end eventually turning on Jura and being instrumental in defeating the Trees. Maybe Konohamaru has the same thing with Moegi, only for Jura to take her out, not tolerating two traitors, really raising stakes.

Bottom line is, there was a way to do this where we would've gotten some dramatic stakes and character development and it honestly seemed for awhile like this was the route we'd go. Then in this chapter though, we don't do that. In fact this might be the last chapter we see of Tree Sasuke.

Admitably, salvage is a strong word. My idea is less of a panacea and more of a cold medicine. Nothing but a complete overhaul can save this plot but we can try to lessen the damage somewhat.

I just can't understand the baffling decisions made here. This is such a short sighted decision that ruins what the arc could be later on. I think Kishimoto's fly by the seat writing is responsible. These decisions are just going to cause problems and undermine things later. It's not going to age well when people start asking "What's the point of this arc?" There's no grand story being built up. There's no character development being done here. There's just....nothing.

It asks the classic question of "is this the most interesting period in the life of your character and if not why do you not show us that?". And if this IS the most interesting Boruto gets then OOOFF!

At this point I've long given up on anything regarding Kashin Koji making sense. The thing is, there is no answer to "How does Koji know these things" that's satisfying.

The Trees were literally just born yesterday. These things are all Code's creations by messing with the Divine Tree and making the Claw Grimes. Code had no friggin clue this would happen though. It was an anomaly that was a complete accident. Nobody know the Divine Trees could do this. Hell, even the Divine Trees themselves don't fully understand how they came into being. So how Kashin Koji knows anything about these things is way beyond any reasonable doubt. The Trees don't seem to know anything about themselves either, that's why they're so obsessed with finding a purpose. The only possible explanation is that Kashin Koji spies on them and learns of the Bulbs from a conversation they have. But then the question is-when? And that ties into the pacing issue.

I do not expect complete satisfaction, just an overall "I guess that makes sense" kind of thing. My guess is that he learned a thing or two from the original incarnation of Kara on how Otsutsuki and the Biju work. I presume he spied on them and took notes. That being said, let me make it clear that I am grasping at straws.

TBV only takes place over the course of a few days. I'm not even sure 48 hours have passed in-universe time. If 48 hours have passed, 72 hours certainly have not. These have all been very congruent, one after the other.

Since I started writing this response, I decided to go back and re-read earlier chapters. The answer being built up to is that somehow Boruto and Kashin Koji knew all along that Code messing with the Divine Tree would make the Tree People. How they knew it could do this is beyond me. The translation I read seems a bit clearer, and it seems to me like they're heavily hinting at Kashin Koji somehow seeing the future. Him and Boruto have working together ever since Sasuke died to prevent that future. There's a huge allusion to some kind of future-seeing or time traveling being hinted at. Which I can't imagine won't make a dozen plot holes once it finally gets explored.

Koji propably makes estimates based on what he knows. Educated guesses at best.