“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” Manga Issue 60 Review: Place to Belong

While we did get some interesting scenes involving the Kara organization and how to possibly protect the Hidden Leaf Village from their inevitable attack, ‘Place to Belong’ gave us some amazing moments focusing on Kawaki.

The latest Boruto manga chapter opened with Shikamaru being concerned about the five villages still not able to find Code. You know things are bad when even Shikamaru’s worried. According to Sai, Code left his Claw Marks (which I’ll get to in a bit) outside the Hidden Leaf Village as well as in other locations.

With Sai having three-person teams patrolling each area with the Claw Marks, I agreed with Shikamaru about Code forcing the good guys to spread themselves too thin. We know Code and his crew will be attacking soon. The Hidden Leaf Village running low on ninjas (due to most of them out on patrol duty because of the Claw Marks) is advantageous for Code. He’s strong, but he’s not “solo-an-entire-village-of-ninjas” strong.

With how the anime has been fleshing out certain narrative beats from the manga, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Boruto anime team decides to actually show us a handful of teams finding Code’s Claw Marks as well as capturing the Outer Kara members Sai told Shikamaru about. Apprehending Outer Kara members could give Boruto’s classmates a chance to shine. A whole lot of them haven’t appeared in the anime series for a while now. And I don’t like that.

As for the Claw Marks, that’s the name of the leather-looking bands we have seen Code use to teleport himself or parts of his body. During Shikamaru’s conversation with Sai and Ibiki, it’s revealed that Code’s not using Space-Time Ninjutsu the way Sasuke or the Otsutsuki Clan does. The Claw Marks function more like Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique. As long as a Claw Mark is placed somewhere, Code can pop out of it at will. He can also make someone else teleport through the Claw Marks as long as he grabs onto them. 

‘Place to Belong’ also gave us scenes between Code, Eida, and Daemon. I don’t know about you, but I think there’s something going on within the group. Even though Daemon wanted to tell Code how his “Reflection” ability worked, Eida told her younger brother to stay quiet and not be so quick to spill details about himself. It’s obvious to Code that Eida’s hiding information from him. But he can’t do anything about it because her glamor ability has Code under her control. Code theorizes Eida’s hiding even more skills and I agree with him.

Having said that, we did get to learn a bit about Daemon’s powers. With Code not being able to place a Claw Mark on the dangerous kid, it’s safe to assume Daemon’s “Reflection” ability’s always active. So, even if you want to hit him with a surprise attack, you won’t be able to.

A number of fans have been sharing theories online about Daemon’s unique powers and how certain characters might be able to defeat him. We know that physical attacks, scientific ninja tools, and a range of Jutsus won’t work on him. However, certain fans feel that Genjutsu might be the answer to take Daemon down or at least disorient him long enough to land a critical hit.

If you ask me, I have been wondering about Summoned creatures. We know Daemon can reflect attacks from humans. But can he reflect the attacks and abilities of Summoned creatures? I would like to know. Also, I feel there’s a good chance Daemon’s “Reflection” ability only works if Eida’s near him.

Both cyborgs were in human-sized containers before Code came to free them. So, at least we know Amado knows how to defeat Eida and Daemon even if it means shutting them down. He created them after all.

Talking about Amado creating overpowered cyborgs, ‘Place to Belong’ revealed that Amado’s indeed working on another cyborg to serve as an ally to the Hidden Leaf Village. While we got to see said cyborg’s container, we weren’t shown their face. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mystery cyborg ends up being another version of Delta or Kashin Koji.

Now, let’s talk about Kawaki. While I’m still not a fan of him, especially because I think Kawaki being a major player in Boruto means we are getting Naruto vs Sasuke 2.0 complete with Mitsuki and Salad being pushed away similar to Sakura, I did appreciate the emotional value featured in the Kawaki-centric scenes.

I liked how he’s still unsure about staying in the Hidden Leaf Village. Even though the Uzumaki family has welcomed Kawaki, the fact remains he’s the reason Konoha’s currently in so much danger. There are rumors about Kawaki spreading across the village. The citizens might not be sure but I think most of them can put two-and-two together to deduce that things turned bad as soon as Kawaki showed up. Even now he’s a major target for Code and staying inside the village means Code will be making a visit soon to kidnap him.

With Kawaki being late to dinner, Naruto had to intervene and talk Kawaki into never doubting his place in Konoha. As long as Naruto’s the Hokage, Kawaki’s got a home inside the village. Naruto’s dream has always been to serve as the type of Hokage who offers peace and security to every villager. Kawaki not feeling at home in Konoha was something Naruto just couldn’t accept.

Seeing Naruto and his family plan a welcoming party was Kawaki was sweet. The dining table even had the vase that Kawaki accidentally broke (and then fixed) as the centerpiece. Not only that, Boruto decided to give Kawaki his forehead protector (hitai-ate). Even though Kawaki wasn’t officially a ninja yet, Boruto, Salad, and Mitsuki wanted him to have it because as far as they were concerned Kawaki’s a member of Team 7. He can return the forehead protector to Boruto once he’s earned one himself after becoming an actual ninja.

Boruto manga chapter issue 60 ended with Kawaki deciding to go down the route I think many of us suspected. In the previous chapter, Amado told Kawaki about giving him access to the Karma Mark without the side-effect of serving as an Otsutsuki vessel. We know Kawaki realizes he isn’t strong enough to protect Naruto from what’s to come. The poor kid’s conflicted. Helping Naruto would mean getting back the same mark he spent years hoping to get rid of. With how things are going, I think Kawaki will be making a visit to Amado very soon.

Other thoughts and questions:

• Sumire continues to be suspicious of Amado. I don’t think he’s a truly evil person, but I do think he’s planning something.
• I’m confused about Eida, too. She doesn’t come across as evil either. I wouldn’t be surprised if she betrays Code down the line.
• Yes, I’m concerned about Boruto taking the pills Amado gave him.
• Can’t Naruto, being the Hokage, have an extra room built for Kawaki now that he’s been basically adopted by the Uzumaki family? I don’t care how comfy the sofa in Naruto’s home office is, Kawaki needs a proper bed.

What did you think of ‘Place to Belong’? Do you think Code and his crew will attack Konoha in the next chapter?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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