Predestined Fate
This... is the way to kill an Otsutsuki?
That's an incredible inferno.
But he's just going to absorb them with his Karma, right?!
That said, the flames aren't dying down one bit.
What's going on?
I see...
That's why he used a summoning.
Those flames aren't created from chakra,
they're natural.
They're real flames.
That's why he can't absorb it with his Karma.
He summoned the Eternally Burning Fire of Mt. Kaen,
the Flaming Mountains...
a naturally occurring inferno...
It won't go out until it has burned everything to ashes.
What's going on?!
Wait a minute!
He's absorbing them with his Karma anyway!
Karma?
No, he isn't.
He's shrinking the flames themselves with his ability.
Isshiki's Secret Jutsu, Sukunahikona,
can shrink practically anything...
He can restore them back instantly as well.
The only exception is living things.
He can shrink himself, but no other living thing.
But otherwise, anything goes.
Even flames.
What a simple, yet terrifying ability.
How does the masked guy plan to deal with that?
Naturally, we anticipated this happening, of course.
That's exactly the reason why we waited until now to strike.
Jigen's body has reached its limit.
It won't last much longer!
He burst into flames again!
He'd barely started recovering
from his last battle against the two of you.
So, it's impossible for him to continuously shrink
the Eternally Burning Fire of Mt. Kaen right now.
This seems like a rather abrupt end.
This is the way to kill an Otsutsuki?
Cut the nonsense, loser.
Huh?
Are you even paying attention?
He's got a Karma.
As long as they have Karma, the Otsutsuki don't die.
They'll keep on resurrecting.
Isshiki Otsutsuki...
Currently, he has two Vessels marked with a Karma:
Jigen and Kawaki.
In short, he can come back to life twice.
Isn't that right, Amado?
And now, you're going to tell us how to take him down
based on your explanation and facts stated here, right?
That's right, Sasuke...
You've got a good grasp on things.
You also mentioned earlier that
if Isshiki were to reincarnate in Kawaki's body
rather than the unsuitable Jigen,
we wouldn't be able to stop him.
And it would be the end of our world.
But it doesn't make sense, does it?
If Jigen dies, taking Isshiki with him,
Kawaki would be the sole remaining Vessel.
We'd be playing right into Isshiki's hands.
Isn't that right, Amado?
You bastard, don't tell me—!
This thing was a setup for Isshiki from the very beginning?!
Hey!
Kawaki?!
Kawaki!
Damn it!
Please inform Inuzuka and the others back at the lab
to prepare and stand by for a video analysis.
Yes, sir.
Are you all right?!
I told you
not to come in here!
Long time no see, Kawaki.
You seem well.
Amado, you bastard!
What the hell are you planning?!
I don't appreciate the accusations.
This is a simple misunderstanding.
I understand this is a complicated matter,
but I'm sure you'll understand.
Please allow me to explain.
Go on and spill it then.
Nice and simple, so we can understand!
In a few minutes, Jigen will probably burn to death
along with Isshiki inside of him.
When an Otsutsuki dies,
the transfer into one's Vessel begins automatically.
Even Isshiki himself cannot control it.
It's a strict Karma rule.
And though Jigen and Kawaki are both Vessels of Isshiki's...
Jigen's Karma has had enough time to have completed decompressing,
so Jigen is fully ready to be used as Isshiki's Vessel at any moment.
Whereas Kawaki still hasn't finished the process.
Just like with Boruto,
his Otsutsukification is still in progress.
But it won't be done for some time.
In other words, he can't be used as Isshiki's Vessel yet.
So, you're saying...
If Jigen dies now and Kawaki is unusable...
Isshiki won't be able to come back for a while?
At least until Kawaki completes
his transformation into a proper Vessel?
Hold on a second!
Don't tell me you're planning to kill Kawaki before that happens!
Well... That is one option.
Don't mess around.
We can't allow that.
I figured.
It's about time...
Watch the feed.
Watch closely...
Isshiki Otsutsuki is going to reveal his true form.
Isshiki... is going to come back to life?!
But how?
Isn't his Vessel—Jigen, already dead?
Yes, he died.
Medically, that is.
But as an Otsutsuki Vessel, it's another story...
It doesn't matter if he's a burnt-up corpse.
If it's a body bearing a Karma for an Otsutsuki,
it will function sufficiently to be a Vessel for reincarnation.
Kawaki...
I'm glad you're here.
There's something I wanted to confirm with my own eyes.
What?
The phenomenon that is about to happen to you.
Hey! What's going to happen?
Kawaki!
What's the matter?!
His Karma!
Hey, Kawaki!
Are you all right?!
What's the meaning of this?!
What's happening?!
Stop, Boruto!
You bastard!
Could you be quiet for a moment?
This is my first time seeing this too.
His Karma stopped going out of control?!
Kawaki! Hey!
Can you hear me?! Wake up!
It didn't just stop going out of control.
Take a good look at Kawaki's left palm.
What?!
His Karma... is gone!
All of the flames were shrunk in an instant.
Such tremendous power.
He's finally making an appearance.
Isshiki Otsutsuki!
Hey, Amado!
Explain to us exactly what is happening right now!
It appears that Isshiki's reincarnation is complete
using Jigen's body.
That's clear.
But why did something weird happen to Kawaki's Karma at the same time?
It doesn't seem like a coincidence.
How is it related to Isshiki's resurrection?
Of course, it's not a coincidence.
When an Otsutsuki reincarnates using a Vessel...
all other Karma embedded in other Vessels are simultaneously erased.
All together...
no matter how many Vessels have been prepared.
I suspect it's a sort of safety feature
to prevent the risk of creating duplicates of the same personality.
But that's irrelevant.
What's key is that right now,
he no longer possesses even a single Vessel
for the purposes of reincarnating further into.
Do you understand what this means?
That's right.
At the moment...
it's possible to kill...
an immortal Otsutsuki for good.
Here he comes!
Huh?
The one you've been waiting for.
We finally meet...
Isshiki Otsutsuki!
He's Isshiki?!
The video!
He got the Scout Toad.
Will Koji Kashin be all right?!
The plan was mostly fruitful.
We were successful at dragging Isshiki out using Jigen.
Koji has served his function.
You mean he's not going to make it?
That was the plan from the very beginning.
We wouldn't be jumping through such hoops
if Isshiki were someone who could be easily defeated.
I'm not sure why...
But I can't shake the feeling that he was fighting Isshiki,
like he really meant to take him down.
You did explain it to him straight, right?
That this mission was a one-way ticket to the afterlife?!
What's your point?
Why does it bother you so much?
I don't know.
I can't figure out why I'm so concerned with him.
He's randomly shrinking everything he catches sight of.
Is he planning on destroying this whole space?
All genes...
All people have a predestined fate.
That man bore a mighty fate...
A star of change.
Now I understand.
Amado had wanted to cling to it...
to that man's mighty fate...
To the miniscule possibility of change.
Koji Kashin, the clone of Jiraiya, of the Legendary Sannin...
That you shall die here was also predestined by your genes!
He's shrinking my jutsu instantly!
This is a whole different level of power than when he was Jigen!
In that case...
Raging Lion's Mane Jutsu!
It's useless, no matter what you do.
You cannot defeat me...
ever.
No resistance.
He got away using Sukunahikona,
but where is he?!
My whole body is brimming with incredible power.
However, because of that power...
it's only a matter of time before this body is destroyed.
I probably only have a few days of life left.
Furthermore, I've lost Kawaki's Karma.
Curse you, Amado! You planned well.
You can't resurrect anymore.
If you die, it's over.
So, I'm settling things here and now.
What a pitiful fool.
You don't understand at all do you?
I take it Amado has fled.
I presume he went to the Leaf...
It's highly likely he intends to have
the Hokage and Uchiha dispose of me.
What?
Because you lack the power to defeat me.
Amado understood that.
Koji Kashin...
It means you have already fulfilled your role,
the moment you dragged me out of Jigen.
Nonsense.
If you're trying to distract me to escape, it won't work.
You don't get it, do you?
You're not capable of being a heroic shinobi tool.
You're nothing more than a pitiful sacrificial pawn.
Enough chatter.
Here I come!
All right, this looks good.
You're granted most of the common civilian rights.
However, this only applies within the village.
You'll need both my and Naruto's permission
to step outside the village.
That's fine with me.
Do whatever that will put you at ease.
You may use our research facilities,
but only under my direct supervision.
And on condition that you hand over your tech to us without exception.
Very well.
Satisfied?
Now hurry up and disarm that bomb around Shikadai's neck!
There's no need to worry about that.
That's just an ordinary collar.
What?!
Does that mean... you were just bluffing?!
Well, that about sums it up.
The one I used to blow up that branch was real, though.
Quit messing with us!
You damn—!
Whether you suspected Shikadai's was fake or not,
once you saw a real bomb go off in front of your eyes,
you could no longer assume anything with absolute certainty.
Huh?
In such a case, you would never do something
so foolish as to risk your son's life.
Am I wrong?
Damn it!
That aside, Lord Hokage...
I'm sure you understand, but the hard part is yet to come.
Koji Kashin does not have the power to defeat Isshiki.
You are the only ones who stand a chance.
He's still fighting, right?
If we join the fight now, we'll be at an advantage!
No, you can't.
I don't recommend doing that.
How come?!
Right now, Isshiki has only one target right now.
And that's Kawaki.
As I said earlier,
Isshiki only has about a few days left to live.
Naturally, he won't be taking this sitting down.
He must be planning on embedding Kawaki
with another Karma before his life runs out.
To make it possible again for him to use Kawaki
as his Vessel to resurrect.
He's going to imbed Kawaki with another Karma?!
That will probably be his top priority.
So even if you rush over there to attack him,
he has no reason to stay and engage you.
He might just ignore you and rush over here,
where Kawaki is...
If he lets loose here, the village will be destroyed!
As long as Kawaki is here, you can't avoid him attacking.
You might want to start evacuating the civilians.
Sai! Get working on that.
Understood.
Damn it!
Isn't there anything else we can do?!
At the very least, hide Kawaki somewhere.
However, just in case his location gets exposed,
Lord Hokage and Sasuke, who have the greatest fighting power,
need to be around to protect him.
In short, the two of you cannot stray too far away from Kawaki.
We wouldn't have to go through all of this
if Isshiki's life runs out quickly, but...
Well, at any rate,
all is lost if Kawaki is implanted with another Karma.
You must defeat Isshiki before that happens no matter what.
Sage Mode?
Fire Style: Giant Flame Bombs!
Sukunahikona is a Visual Jutsu.
So, it only activates upon seeing its target.
Then how about...
Sage Art: The Five Fire Gods' Fan of Flames!
Flames, flames and then more flames?!
Quite boring, aren't you, Koji Kashin?!
The one who's a bore...
is you!
Massive Rasengan!
Now choose!
Would you like to be ripped to shreds or burned to ashes?!
What?!
Secret Jutsu: Daikokuten...
Until a little while ago,
those were just the ordinary stone columns that lined this space.
But now, they mark your grave.
The enemy is a complete monster!
Only Sasuke and I will take him on.
I can fight too!
I fought with you against Momoshiki, didn't I?
Boruto.
I'm prepared to die at any moment for the Leaf as is Naruto.
What about you?
Are you ready to die for the village?
Next time on Boruto: Naruto Next Generations:
PREPARED
"Prepared"
Of course, I am! I'm—!