Naruto: Kishimoto Reveals His Inspiration For Boruto Uzumaki

This article contains spoilers for the Boruto series.

Summary

Kishimoto inspired Boruto by Neji’s sacrifice for NaruHina.
Neji’s death was meant to bring Naruto and Hinata closer.
Boruto’s name and concept were designed as a tribute to Neji.

Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto series was one of the most popular stories back when it was being serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. In fact, even a decade after the end of the manga, fans know that Naruto is as popular as ever before.

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Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto series ended with the conclusion of the Fourth Great Ninja War, and many years after, Naruto Uzumaki became the Seventh Hokage. As the story ended, fans wanted to know if they’d ever get a sequel to the story. Eventually, the Boruto series was set up by the author, and to this day, the sequel has been going on. The protagonist for Naruto’s sequel is his own son, Boruto Uzumaki, and Kishimoto was inspired to create Boruto by a beloved Naruto character.

How Masashi Kishimoto Came Up With Boruto Uzumaki

Kishimoto Had Neji Sacrifice Himself For NaruHina
Boruto Was Supposed To Be a Tribute To Neji

When it comes to the Fourth Great Ninja War, one of the most bizarre and pointless deaths that happened in the story was that of Neji Hyuga. Fans know that Neji was incredibly strong and at the same time, smart enough to fight efficiently against threats stronger than him, such as the Ten Tails. That’s precisely why when he died at the hands of the Ten-Tails, specifically due to the emission of Wood Release, fans were utterly confused because Neji should’ve had more than enough power in him to deal with this attack. Something about this just felt off to the fans, and eventually, the answer to this was provided to the fans in an interview that Kishimoto did after the Last.

Naruto, please take care of Hinata-sama. You hold more than just one life in your hands now. — Neji Hyuga

In this interview, Kishimoto essentially confirmed that around this time of the story, Kishimoto had already decided to make Hinata the lead heroine of the story, and so, he had the idea to use Neji as a means to have Naruto Uzumaki get closer to her. Although Hinata jumped to defend Naruto from Pain, Kishimoto needed more than just that for a relationship between the two to take off. In Kishimoto’s own words, Neji played cupid and brought Naruto and Hinata together at the end of the story.

Of course, Naruto and Hinata could’ve ended up together without Neji sacrificing himself as well, and fans weren’t too fond of Kishimoto killing Neji off for such a petty reason, but at least he had other plans to pay tribute to Neji.

Kishimoto Hoped To Have Boruto Linked To Neji

Boruto Is Inspired By His Uncle

In the interview, Kishimoto also went on to reveal that Boruto Uzumaki’s name was decided while thinking of Neji. Boruto’s name can also be ready as ‘Bolt’, which has a similar meaning to Neji, which literally translates to ‘Screw’ in Japanese. Essentially, Boruto was supposed to be a homage to Neji Hyuga, especially since he gave up his life to protect Naruto and Hinata in the war and brought them together.

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We are fighting a war to protect Naruto-kun. Losing is not an option. — Hinata Hyuga

Did Kishimoto Forget To Deliver On The Promise?

It Seems Ikemoto Doesn’t Care Much About Boruto’s Connection To Neji

Kishimoto also hoped to have scenes focusing on Neji through Boruto Uzumaki, if a Boruto series were to ever materialize. Years later, fans know that the Boruto series is quite successful, although no scenes of Neji have been shown in the manga at all. It seems that, after everything, Kishimoto simply forgot to include Neji in the manga and his successor, Ikemoto, who is already notorious for cutting out characters from the old generation, most likely doesn’t care about it either.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 21 is set for its official release on April 20, 2025. The release time of the chapter is 10 AM EST/ 3 PM UTC. As always, fans can read the chapter officially for free on the Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps.

Boruto

Release Date: April 5, 2017
Network: TV Tokyo