As the Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga continues, the advantage is tipping to the franchise’s God Trees. A lot has to do with Boruto being told by Kashin Koji that he cannot enter the battle. It results in Shikamaru’s soldiers in Sunagakure fighting Ryu and Matsuri — two God Trees who are way too powerful for them.

Even with Araya having a sand-sealing blade, Ryu overwhelms them. As for Matsuri and Konohamaru, well, the Konoha-nin can’t withstand her power once he rejects her affections. This leads to a major development in Two Blue Vortex Chapter #19 as the boss, Jura, expounds on the anachronistic nature of his species. He reveals that they actually have something in common with the Uchiha Sasuke of old: their view of love. However, while there is disdain for it, it could offer a key solution in due time.

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Sasuke Viewed Love As a Weakness Throughout Naruto

Sasuke Thought Love Couldn’t Heal the World

In the Uchiha clan, love was both a good and bad thing. It helped the tribe grow more, as nature would dictate. But love also meant that once someone died, that loss would create deep anger inside the warriors and keep triggering the evolution of their Sharingan. It was seen when Shisui died and Itachi evolved; when Obito died and Kakashi evolved; and when Itachi died and Sasuke evolved. Even Madara and his brother endured this cycle.

In time, Sasuke, while accepting his Sharingan power-ups, saw love as a weakness. He didn’t want love to inhibit him from killing Itachi after his older brother culled their clan. Itachi did it to protect the Hidden Leaf and the innocents he loved. He became a scapegoat, which led to his and Sasuke’s rivalry. When Sasuke learned how the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, used his brother as a weapon, he hated the idea of love even more.

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After Itachi died and Kaguya’s threat was stemmed, Sasuke went after the Tailed Beasts himself. He’d remake the world and bring about peace. Even if it was a warped order, he would rid the planet of war. That’s why he ignored the love he had for Sakura and the brotherhood with Naruto. Loving them, caring for them, and showing compassion and empathy would derail the mission. Sasuke didn’t want to be thrown off track, so even if he had to kill Naruto, so be it.

Luckily, the last of the Uzumaki clan would beat sense into Sasuke and get him to realize they need to love. They can’t be programmed robots who run on algorithms and codes. They must give into their emotions because flaws are a part of life. It makes the world beautiful, imperfect, and worth living in. The good must come with the bad. Sasuke accepted this yin-yang philosophy and rehabilitated himself to become an Uchiha Ranger. He’d marry Sakura, make Sarada, and pass down these doctrines to ninjas like her, Boruto and Mitsuki. They all learned that love can heal and make a better world if everyone tries.

Jura Thinks Love Must Be Eradicated

Jura Believes Compassion Will Stop the God Trees From Creating Order

In the present, Jura lectures Mamushi and Hidari back at their lair on love. He admits its part of a two-pronged problem. First, humanity and society are animals. But developing intelligence restrains this basic, carnal instinct. Jura thinks, though, that it is the destiny and overall path that civilization treads. He is adamant all lifeforms need to stay the course, obey these instincts and evolve the way fate wanted them to.

Intelligence and reasoning only dull those senses. Jura calls it a “harmful side effect.” It’s a flaw they cannot have if they are to realize their meaning and why they were formed as sentient beings from the Ten Tails. Jura posits that intelligence will give way to love and weaken society. They won’t be apex predators or alphas; they’ll form treaties, find friends, and deviate from the original intent: whatever that may be.

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It’s selfish, but there is a point to what he is saying about diluting a system, especially in a world of hunters. He believes love will lead to irrational decisions. He points out how Konoha’s young ninjas risked their lives to fight him to save Himawari. It was always going to be a losing battle. Common sense, in his eyes, would have pushed them to run and leave Naruto’s daughter behind.

Instead, that bond and innate desire to protect her almost cost Inojin his life. Being aware of the peril and risking their safety is “foolish” to him. Clearly, he is surmizing that love makes people stupid and weak. That’s essentially what Sasuke thought. In fact, Hidari calls it a disease, which is ironic because he was made as a ‘clone’ of Sasuke.

He thinks the same way. As such, Jura’s wavelength is easily conditioning and governing Hidari right now. They view love as troublesome. It’s something they must overcome. It’s obvious they could be infected by this virus, because Matsuri wants to be with Konohamaru. And then reaching a breaking point to devour him when he spurns her.

While Jura may not like it, love is in their DNA due to them all being copies of human ninjas who very much held love in their hearts. Once they remain pure or purge whatever love is in them, they can do what Sasuke wanted: raze the world and rebuild it. It’s a higher calling they cannot deviate from. This makes them acolytes in a sinister cult, to say the least.

Jura’s Speech in Boruto Chapter 19 Hints at the God Trees’ Vulnerability

Naruto’s Talk No Jutsu Might Need a Comeback Against the God Trees

Now, while Jura waxes poetic and spews wisdom to control his tribe’s agency and identity, his speech opens up an Achilles’ heel. Love can affect one’s individuality, even if they don’t want it to. Matsuri is like this because she has the love that Moegi holds for Konohamaru-chan. Thus, love is hard to suppress. Jura recognizes they can try to stymie it, but once it prevails, it will ‘corrupt’ them. That creates humanity inside: the very thing Naruto tapped into for the Talk No Jutsu.

Those speeches worked on Nagato in the Akatsuki War; Obito and other villains like Toneri Ōtsutsuki. The latter is of particular importance because the Ten Tails and God Trees are derivatives of the Ōtsutsuki clan. They can hold love within, which Kaguya, as evil as she was, held for her sons and descendants. As long as this conflict stirs, Boruto and his allies can appeal to the light inside the God Trees.

They can use the Talk No Jutsu to ask them to seek redemption and not blind purpose. Hidari questioning things speaks for itself. That is the remnant essence of Sasuke lingering in him. He could be taught about family, hope and selflessness. Matsuri can be taught about what relationships mean and why they benefit the world once done right. Mamusi came from Bug’s essence. Bug didn’t want the world to be destroyed by Isshiki and Code’s legacy, so Mamushi can also seek atonement.

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The point is, these seeds are already planted for some sort of absolution. One might think it may be trickier for Jura, as he is the direct offshoot of the Ten Tails. But that beast never had freedom. It wasn’t a beloved pet. It was always reared to break worlds and produce fruits for the Ōtsutsuki aliens to feed. Jura and his kind are slaves. They are shackled to the Ōtsutsuki directive: to just perfect a home for overlords.

Ultimately, there is no love there. The God Trees never knew it in their primordial forms. But the new era is a chance to rectify that. It feels like Boruto will be the one to enlighten them in this embryonic stage. If the heroes could free Naruto and Sasuke to explain all this, that would be even better. It wouldn’t be uncharacteristic to end this feud via words rather than blows.

It would stick to the ethos of the Naruto franchise regarding lost, misguided souls. Remember, the God Trees are nascent children seeking to fulfill a role they have been brainwashed into playing. Only time will tell if they can ignore the gaslighting, listen, wise up and view love as a gift, not a curse. Wanting this tabula rasa can help them unlock their full potential rather than just being instruments of death and destruction for invisible masters.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Release Date

2017 – 2022

Directors

Noriyuki Abe, Hiroyuki Yamashita

Writers

Makoto Uezu, Ukyo Kodachi

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