Summary
- Upon his return to Konoha, Boruto shows a cold and single-minded approach, more resembling an Uchiha like Sasuke rather than an emotional Uzumaki like his father.
- Boruto's identity could have been affected by Momoshiki's influence, Eida's "Omnipotence" ability, and the long time spent with Sasuke.
- Boruto doesn't show emotion in meeting his sister Hiwamari, nor anger in seeing Kawaki, the man who stole his life. Instead, Boruto is only focused on his mission.
Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Boruto: Two Blue Vortex: Chapter 3While Boruto's long-awaited return to Konoha has sparked a range of emotions from the people he once called family, friends, and mentors, the hero himself seems to have distanced himself from his family and village, at least emotionally. Indeed, Boruto seems to have accepted that he is no longer an Uzumaki or a full-fledged citizen of the village, and he is behaving more like his master Sasuke.
Boruto has had identity issues ever since the defeated Momoshiki Otsutuski inscribed his karma onto Boruto's hand. As a result, he became inextricably linked to the Otsutsuki Clan, slowly succumbing to Momoshiki's influence. Moreover, in Boruto (Part I) chapter #66, as a result of dying and coming back to life, the resurrected Boruto was more Otsutsuki than Uzumaki.
The latest assault on his identity was when in Boruto Part I chapter #79, Kawaki and Eida combined their powers to unleash Eida's "Omnipotence" ability which rewrote most of humanity's memory to believe that Boruto was never an Uzumaki. Contrary to expectations, however, when Boruto returned to Konoha after three years, he seems to have fully accepted his new status, as shown in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter #3.
Boruto's Reaction To Seeing Hiwamari And Kawaki Is Surprisingly Cold
Upon Boruto's return to Konoha, nothing in his attitude and demeanor suggests he wants to reclaim his former Uzumaki identity. This was most clearly illustrated in the sequence with his sister Himawari. In the scene, Himawari arrives at the location where both Boruto and Kawaki are present. Since she was affected by Eida's Omnipotence, she no longer understands that Boruto is her brother - despite having at least an odd feeling about the whole situation. Nevertheless, despite neither seeing nor talking to his sister for three years, all Boruto can muster on their first interaction is a cold stare.
The iciness of his reaction is made palpable by the fact that before Eida turning the world against him, Boruto and Himawari were very close, but there was none of the warmth or feeling coming from Boruto. While the interaction was brief, it seemed that now Boruto has other priorities. In fact, Boruto also has a surprising lack of an emotional response towards Kawaki who, in essence, stole his life away from him. Upon seeing him in Konoha, Boruto doesn't shift his focus away from Code and his mission of tracking down Kara's Ten-Tails.
Boruto Is Now More Uchiha Than Uzumaki
Such a cold, single-minded approach is more befitting of an Uchiha than an Uzumaki. Surely, Boruto's master Sasuke, with whom he spent the last three years, is known for not showing his emotions and being devoted to his missions or goals almost to the point of obsession. No one would have blamed Boruto if he immediately went after Kawaki for stealing his life, or for showing emotion in seeing his sister. Instead, the new Boruto that fans came to appreciate in this second part of the story is miles away from his father, who was known for always showing his emotions and often acting based on instinct.
It's safe to say that, at least for the moment, Boruto has fully accepted his current situation and is not wasting time - or emotions - in trying to change it. Instead, just like Sasuke, he has forsaken everything else to focus on his current mission, proving that Boruto truly changed during the past three years, to the point that he could no longer be considered an Uzumaki.
