Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto tells the story of the titular ninja starting as a lowly underdog to becoming his village’s most respected ninja. The sequel series Boruto follows Naruto’s son and a plight against beings from another world. Both series do an excellent job of effortlessly weaving mythology into their stories, and Boruto is subtly hinting at doing it again.
Naruto established a world lush with adaptations of Eastern legends and tales. The series has adapted many stories of gods and ancient characters to fit into the world of ninja and chakra. Boruto follows in its predecessor’s footsteps pulling its main inspiration from Japanese culture and mythology. The series introduced a new god-tier jutsu based on the kami Sukunahikona, and seems to be setting up its next spin on an ancient tale.
Momotaro, or Peach Boy, is one of the most famous legends in Japan. It tells of a boy who was born from a giant peach, found in a river by an old couple. The old couple raises Momotaro, and he grows up to be bigger and stronger than the average person. As he matures, he becomes aware of the demonic oni raiding and pillaging the villages on his home island. Determined to give back to the old couple that raised him, he swears to stop the oni attacks on their home and goes after them. On his journey, he meets a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant that assist him in taking down the demons. They arrive at the oni fortress and wage a hard-fought battle, ultimately coming out victorious. Momotaro and the animals return home and are celebrated as heroes for ages to come.
How The Myth Relates to Boruto
There are multiple ways that Peach Boy aligns with Boruto. Starting with the titular character, Boruto is currently the host of Momoshiki Otsutsuki and has access to his powers. These come from Momoshiki devouring chakra fruits. Not only do both names derive from the word for peach, but the theme of power-bearing fruit lines up with Momotaro’s origin. This makes Boruto with his Otsutsuki ability take on the role of Momotaro in the adaptation.
Destruction facing the Hidden Leaf in the coming years has been teased since the series’ beginning, and all fans know aside from this is that Kawaki is involved somehow. With his history tracing back to Kara, Kawaki could be a metaphor for the demonic oni, along with the Otsutsuki. Their destruction of the Hidden Leaf Village could be what sets Boruto on his journey of taking them down once and for all.
Two of the three animal comrades of Momotaro are present in Boruto as Leaf ninja. Konohamaru is Boruto’s sensei and belongs to the Sarutobi clan. His grandfather was well known for summoning the monkey king Enma, and there are many rumors suggesting that Konohamaru will train under Enma to obtain a monkey sage mode. This makes Konohamaru the perfect candidate to join up with Boruto as well as a reliable ally.
The other character that takes on an animal role, who hasn’t been given much love in Boruto yet, is Kiba Inuzuka, of the clan allied with dogs. Kiba is a member of the original Konoha 11 and now serves as a member of the Hidden Leaf police force. Now that Masashi Kishimoto is writing the story, it’s possible that he will pull one of his narrative tricks of allying unlikely characters, while also giving one of his originals a chance to show off.
The only piece of the animal trio that is missing is the pheasant. As of right now, there are no characters with ties to a pheasant-related creature. There are still a few years between the current arc of the story and the teased destruction, so this issue could be solved by introducing a new character. Or Kishimoto could take some creative liberties and use a different animal altogether. It’s unlikely that any of Boruto’s allies wouldn’t have a part to play in this potential arc. In this case, Mitsuki would be a great option to go with. As the child of Orochimaru, Mitsuki has snake powers as well as an impressive sage mode. Aside from a tease early in the series, this sage mode hasn’t been mentioned otherwise. Mitsuki is already Boruto’s teammate, so he will no doubt want to help his friend, and it would also be the perfect chance to show off the sage mode again.
What The Arc Might Look Like
Currently, the main antagonist of Boruto is the cyborg Code, a devote follower of the Otsutsuki. He recently assaulted Konoha but was forced to retreat from the battle after fighting a new Karma-empowered Kawaki. Boruto became an Otsutsuki after Momoshiki was forced to revive him. In the most recent chapter, Chapter 68, Code once again infiltrates the Hidden Leaf, but he is quickly defeated and calls in an ally; Eida, another cyborg. There are a plethora of different directions this could take in the coming chapters, but at some point, the story will focus on the Hidden Leaf’s destruction.
Once this eventual plot point comes about, Boruto might have to retreat and master Momoshiki’s power before confronting Kawaki again. In this possible outcome, it’s likely that Mitsuki would flee with Boruto. At some point, they would meet up with Konohamaru or Kiba, and then meet the other at a later point. The four will confront Kawaki and the Otsutsuki, and thus the battle between Boruto and Kawaki would commence. Of course, there are a lot of other characters that could be involved in this entire arc, so their stories would be told too, but the focus would be on Boruto, Mitsuki, Konohamaru, and Kiba.
Bringing It All Together
To recap, Momotaro is the story of a boy born from a peach who befriends a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant, and takes the fight to the demons hurting his homeland. Boruto is Momotaro, Kiba is the dog, Konohamaru the monkey, and Mitsuki takes the place of the pheasant for the current lack of a better character. Kawaki, the Otsutsuki, and the cyborgs take on the role of the oni threatening the homeland.
Of course, this is all speculation based on a few subtle hints interwoven in the chapters of Naruto and Boruto. Theory or not, however, this would make for a pretty interesting arc, and given the franchise’s method of working real-world myths into its worldbuilding, it would be a fitting direction for Boruto to take.
