“Boruto: Two Blue Vortex” Manga Issue 11 Review: True Power

Boruto Two Blue Vortex manga issue 11, titled ‘True Power’, did a lot to showcase the current power levels of certain characters. Turns out that there are certain weaknesses that could be exploited down the line.

With Himawari tapping into Kurama’s powers in the previous issue, the latest chapter picked up from that exact moment, with an angered Himawari ready to battle Jura. I liked how she was very forward about asking her friends to put some distance between themselves and the battlefield. Their staying would only put them in danger.

Though Chocho didn’t want to leave Himawari to face Jura alone, Shikadai helped talk some sense into her. Even Jura complimented Shikadai’s ability to remain analytical about their current situation. As for Jura mentioning that he would remember Shikadai’s name and that they will meet again someday, I’m looking forward to seeing how that particular thread pans out down the line.

The only thing I felt myself side-eyeing before Himawari and Jura’s fight was her being able to heal Inojin so easily. To be fair, she did mention that he still needed professional medical attention because she was unsure about her healing abilities. Having said that, I do think the creative team could have handled the situation better instead of the latest installment making Inojin’s injury from the previous chapter come across as something that needed to happen for blatant shock value purposes.

With her friends out of the way, Himawari continued to tap into her rage and went on the offensive against Jura. I liked the creative decision of having her hair become longer and resemble Kurama’s nine tails. She’s shown to be quite proficient in using her superstrength and even created a Biju bomb.

However, when Jura got serious, it became clear that Himawari wasn’t a match for him yet. She’s definitely got potential. But there’s much for her to learn. Himawari’s rage could only last for so long before the immense power began taking a toll on her body. She was expending lots of chakra.

As for an explanation of Himawari’s new mode, according to Jura, it resembled him and the rest of the Shinju clones. From what I could understand, while a Jinchuriki was supposed to serve as a vessel for a tailed beast, the two were still separate entities. Himawari, on the other hand, had merged with Kurama in a manner that (kind of) made them one being. I think that’s why when she tapped into Kurama’s power, she wasn’t covered in a chakra cloak. Also, her and Kurama’s life force wasn’t being depleted, unlike Naruto’s time-sensitive fusion with Kurama to create the Baryon Mode when he fought Isshiki.

With Himawari facing off against Jura, ‘True Power’ also showed Salad, Konohamaru, and Sumire’s fight with Hidari inside the Hidden Leaf Village. It’s revealed that even though Hidari’s able to use Sasuke’s Jutsus, he’s unable to perfect the Chidori because he lacks the Sharingan.

Hidari deciding to compensate for said weakness by holding onto Konohamaru’s leg to ensure his next Chidori hit made me laugh. Good thing Konohamaru had learned how to use the Wind-Style Rasen Barricade to create a shield to cushion some of the Chidori’s damage and not die.

As for Hidari using a sneak attack to immobilize Salad and then proceed to KO Sumire with the same lightning-based attack, it has made certain fans unhappy. They wanted Salad to have an actual fight without needing to be rescued by anyone. Especially not Boruto.

From the way I see it, Salad had to lose against Hidari one way or another. As for now, the Shinju team is the story’s big bad. An actual battle between Hidari and Salad wasn’t going to happen at this particular stage of the narrative. Salad’s got to level up more, and there’s still a lot more we need to learn about the Shinju’s need to devour certain people. In this instance, Hidari’s ever-present desire to devour Salad. He didn’t know what he would gain after eating Salad, but he couldn’t stop himself from targeting her.

Due to Jura unleashing some of his powers to give Himawari an incredibly tough time and Salad being immobilized by Hidari’s surprise attack, Boruto had to intervene to save the two girls. He flew to rescue Himawari and then proceeded to use the Flying Raijin Jutsu to teleport himself and Himawari to where Salad was.

The little toads have been a huge help to Boruto ever since his return to Konoha. A toad holding a square was the one who told Boruto about Salad’s whereabouts. I think an enemy should consider targeting the little toads and the symbols they’re holding to potentially block Boruto from using the Flying Raijin Jutsu. 

Also, coming back to Boruto being the one who saved Salad before Hidari could consume her, I think he needed to do so to continue honoring his promise to Sasuke to protect Salad. And while I get the frustration of Salad possibly coming across as a damsel in distress, she, Boruto, and Mitsuki are supposed to be a team. And teams look out for each other. That’s why I think we will see Salad lend a hand to save Boruto from a dangerous enemy soon enough to kind of balance things out.

Due to how the chapter ended, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jura decided to retreat and Hidari complied. I just don’t see an actual fight occur inside of Konoha. On top of that, Salad and certain other characters just aren’t powerful enough to face Jura and his team. That’s why I think we are going to get a bit of a breather in the next chapter.

Some other thoughts and questions!

• Himawari’s favorite food is pancakes.
• Himawari’s hair resembling Kurama’s tails after the power-up reminded me of Himawari’s grandmother and Naruto’s mother Kushina.
• Where is Sakura? We know the Shinju can have more than one target. That’s why it’s weird to see Hidari so transfixed on targeting Salad while he doesn’t sense a bond with Sakura after devouring Sasuke.
• Kawaki needs to find a way to gain a massive power boost ASAP. Boruto and the Shinju are on a completely different level than him.

What did you think of Boruto Two Blue Vortex manga issue 11 ‘True Power’?

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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