“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” Manga Issue 76 Review: A Girls’ Sanctuary

Boruto manga issue 76, ‘A Girls’ Sanctuary’, featured a major development in Sumire and Salad’s upcoming interactions with Eida.

The current manga chapter picked up from where the previous chapter left off, with Boruto trying to make sense of the vision he just had. I would have liked the narrative to spend more time showing Boruto being confused about what he saw, especially due to the scene where Mitsuki had activated his Sage Mode. But I guess we will probably see all of that explored a bit later because ‘A Girls’ Sanctuary’ seemed to be more focused on laying the groundwork for Salad and Sumire’s role down the line.

One of the complaints the fandom, including myself, had was how the narrative was pushing Salad and Mitsuki away from the major storyline. And while Mitsuki was still benched, the latest manga chapter did give Salad an important task that I hope comes to fruition.

With Eida currently living with Daemon, Boruto, and Kawaki in the same house, I think it made sense that she wanted a couple of girls around to talk about her feelings. Eida asked for Salad and Sumire to come over so she could share her emotions regarding Kawaki with them. I really wanted Mitsuki to tag along. But alas, he’s vulnerable to Eida’s Charm ability. To my surprise and disappointment, even Shikadai got affected even though he was able to remain cool when Eida arrived in Konoha a day ago.

While we still don’t know the mechanics behind Eida’s Charm ability, seeing Salad and Sumire not being impacted by Eida at all made for a very interesting development. I really liked seeing how Sumire was quick to tell Salad not to raise suspicion in front of Eida. Sumire had a point. If Eida realized that the two young girls hadn’t fallen under her charm, she would see Salad and Sumire as security risks and Daemon might decide to kill them.

Shikamaru asking Sumire and Salad to not let anyone know about their unexpected immunity, including Boruto, was the right move to make. The two girls were now Konoha’s secret weapons to battle Eida if she was determined to be a risk to the village. I really hope the two get to actually fight Eida. I don’t know if they will win because Eida can fly and she might be hiding a bunch of abilities. But still, I want to see a team-up between Salad and Sumire. Let the girls fight!

The conversation between Salad, Sumire, and Eida did feature some fanservice, especially if you’re a Boruto/Salad shipper. Eida asking how Salad felt about Boruto took our young heroine by surprise. She didn’t give an answer to Eida, but I think seeing Salad blush was enough to fuel Boruto/Salad shippers for now. However, I highly doubt Salad and Boruto are supposed to be endgame. I think Boruto will likely end up with Sumire if he doesn’t ride off into the sunset with Mitsuki. But let’s see.

Also, the fact that Salad’s not jealous at all about Eida trying to get Kawaki to like her must have hurt Kawaki/Salad shippers.

Speaking of Eida and Kawaki, I liked the scene at the breakfast table where Kawaki was able to put everything together regarding why Eida had agreed to work with Code. I felt for Kawaki. He had a point when he mentioned that people who wanted something from him were eventually revealed to be scum. In Kawaki’s opinion, Eida was no different from Jigen and Amado. I don’t see Kawaki and Eida happening and I have a feeling that being outright rejected by Kawaki might lead to Eida turning against Konoha as revenge.

As for why Eida’s so into Kawaki, I don’t know for sure, but I think it might have to do with them sharing similar DNA. We know that Amado used Shibai Otsutsuki‘s DNA to give Eida her OP abilities. And I have a feeling that the Otsutsuki DNA inside Eida wants to connect with Kawaki’s Otsutsuki DNA because Isshiki Otsutsuki was likely genetically the closest to Shibai. I know it’s a weird fan theory. But I still wanted to share it with you.

Another major reveal occurred at the end of ‘A Girls’ Sanctuary’, with Kawaki confronting Boruto about our hero’s conversations with Momoshiki. Kawaki’s had his suspicions ever since he saw Momoshiki standing next to Boruto in the Hokage office before their current mission. I’m looking forward to seeing if Momoshiki will come forward to talk to Kawaki or remain hidden in Boruto’s consciousness.

Momoshiki did get a bit messy when he refused to tell Boruto what he had figured out about Eida’s Charm ability. I have my fingers crossed that we get more information about said ability in the upcoming chapter. I really want to know why Salad and Sumire weren’t affected at all even though they sat so close to Eida on the bed during their conversation.

As for Amado’s conversation with Naruto and Shikamaru, I still can’t help but feel that Amado’s hiding something. The way he cried in front of Naruto (who is an emotional character) after saying that Kawaki’s Karma Mark was the last option he had to resurrect his daughter Akebi made me side-eye Amado even more.

Kawaki brought up a very good point about the likelihood of his Karma Mark turning Akebi into an Otsutsuki too if Amado was indeed able to use it to bring her back to life. Amado did brush away Kawaki’s concern by stating that he wasn’t sure about such a transformation happening because there was no precedent for such an experiment, but from what I have been told about the Karma Mark, Kawaki’s question was valid.

The entire concept of the Karma Mark is to download Otsutsuki DNA (including memories) into a chosen vessel. Amado wanted to use the Karma Mark to download Akebi’s personality into a cloned body. But who is to say that Otsutsuki won’t be downloaded as well in the process and overtake Akebi’s new body? Again, I don’t trust Amado at all.

And even though Naruto said he won’t interfere in the drama between Amado and Kawaki because it didn’t concern Konoha, I think Naruto should be willing to interfere to ensure Amado didn’t hurt Kawaki. At this point, I think Amado’s willing to sacrifice Kawaki to ensure his daughter’s return.

What did you think of ‘A Girls’ Sanctuary’? Do you want a Sumire and Salad vs Eida? Why hasn’t Code attacked Konoha yet?

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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