After Boruto Manga was announced, fans were excited to see their favorite character returning, but what they didn’t know is that it’s called Boruto: Naruto’s Next Generation. Instead of seeing our favorite old character back in the series, we were introduced to characters.
We did get to some of the old major characters making their appearance from time to time. However, there is one character who hasn’t been appearing at all in Boruto manga. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about Mr. Worldwide & the copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake.
After Naruto’s manga ended, we didn’t see him appear in Boruto’s manga. Well, he did appear in a couple of chapters, but that was for a single panel only. Even Orochimaru appears more than Kakashi in Boruto.
However, the reason has been unveiled in Boruto’s new manga, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. Chapter 4 of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex shows why the manga is better off without him, and in this article, we will discuss it.
Why is Kakashi not appearing in Boruto Manga?
Many fans laid out who they believed would be the characters most likely to be the Hokage. While most of us did say that Shikamaru was a strong possibility, almost everyone placed their bets on Kakashi returning as Hokage.
It would have been similar to how Hiruzen set back into the Hokage position after Minato’s death. However, while we did feel super confident in that prediction, Boruto threw us all for a loop by switching it up and making Shikamaru the eighth Hokage.
Kishimoto told us years ago that Kakashi had a major role to play in Boruto’s story but that it would be a spoiler if he revealed it. We thought the tease was there, and we made the prediction by just going off of that promise alone.
However, what exactly happened? Why were we thrown a full loop here by Kishimoto with the script of the new Boruto chapter?
Well, as crazy as it might sound as some of you, particularly those who swear up and down that Boruto has no connection to Naruto’s manga, we actually know why Kakashi cannot be Hokage again, and it comes down to Naruto’s manga.
Back all the way to 2014, when Naruto chapter 699 came out, and Kakashi used his authority as Hokage to get Sasuke pardoned and released from spending a lifetime in prison.
Based on the light novel set between chapter 699 and chapter 700, we know that Kakashi used up nearly all of his political capital as the 6th Hokage and even needed Naruto to beg for Sasuke’s release, and it was done “conditionally.”
Sasuke would forever remain free to travel while at the discretion of the sitting Hokage. Something that Sasuke Shin and the teacher’s star pupil hammer home in the prologue of that story.
There are still those from Naruto’s generation and the older generation who do not forgive Sasuke for what he did, like allying with the Akatsuki and killing the acting six Hokage, Danzo, before he could officially be named the Hokage before the ceremony.
Back to Naruto chapter 699, Kakashi tells Sasuke that if he ever manages to put a toe out of a line again, Kakashi will get in trouble for his actions. And now everyone is seeing Sasuke helping the one who killed the seventh Hokage, Boruto.
So, many elders would have pointed out to Kakashi that because of him, Boruto is now roaming freely after killing the Seventh Hokage. And that Sasuke has shown his true color by helping him.
Other Reasons Why Boruto Manga is Better off Kakashi
We know that in Naruto Shippuden, Kakashi lost his Sharingan after the great shinobi war, and because of that, he is not as powerful as he used to be. The villains of the Shinobi world are getting extremely powerful, and we have not one but a dozen characters like Kaguya.
As we have seen in chapter 4 of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, there are four new villains introduced who are extremely powerful. And not even Boruto could stand against them. I am not saying that Kakashi is weak, but compared to his prime self, he has grown quite weak (still stronger than Sakura though).
Now, it also seems that Kakashi isn’t longer considered the major character, so that is why he does not appear in the series. Masashi Kishimoto, mangaka of Naruto & writer of Boruto, may have decided to focus on the new characters and not to reintroduce all the old characters from Naruto.
The manga itself used to be called Boruto: Naruto’s Next Generation, so it is about the new generation of Naruto and not the old one. So, it’s reasonable that we haven’t seen Kakashi as of now playing a major role in the series. But we would still love to see him, as he is one of the most loved characters from Naruto.
