“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” Manga Issue 59 Review: Knight

The latest manga chapter of Boruto, titled ‘Knight’, showed Eida making a game-changing decision to help Code while Amado offered an explanation about how he plans to help Kawaki achieve more power.

Our cast of characters is basically playing the waiting game right now. Everyone is trying to figure out what to do next because one wrong move could spell defeat. ‘Knight’ opened with Kawaki continuing to have nightmares about his childhood. The latest nightmare involved Code trying to kill him when they were both kids. It’s clear Code has always been jealous of Kawaki.

Code’s feelings made sense to me. Code’s the one who believed Isshiki to be a God. However, Code’s devotion wasn’t enough to make him extremely useful to Isshiki because unlike him, Kawaki ended up becoming the perfect vessel. In Code’s mind, Kawaki’s the Chosen One for Isshiki and that pained him greatly. Code wanted to be the one to sacrifice himself to help resurrect Isshiki.

With Kawaki having played a role in killing Isshiki’s soul, of course, Code wants him dead. But due to a deal that Code struck with Eida he’s agreed to spare Kawaki’s life. But Naruto and Sasuke were fair game. Code’s adamant about killing Naruto with his own hands. Whether he will be able to complete such a mission or not is still up in the air.

Naruto and Sasuke lost a portion of their powers during their fight with Isshiki. However, even with a decrease in power, I liked seeing how Code was still unsure if he could take them both in battle. Perhaps he could beat them one-on-one? The scene showcased how powerful the iconic ninja duo was even after getting nerfed.

What Code needed were fighters he could rely on and that’s what ‘Knight’ showed Eida give him. Turns out, Eida’s not a fighter (she only knew basic Taijutsu). In a way, her not being a formidable combatant made sense to me. Her abilities allowed her to look at everything going on in the present as well as in the past (up to the day she was born). She’s also able to make people fall in love with her and do her bidding. That’s why I could understand her not being much of a fighter.

While Eida’s happy to be on surveillance duty for Code, she did give him a powerful card to play. ‘Knight’ introduced us to a new character, a kid cyborg named Daemon who also happened to be Eida’s biological brother.

The latest manga chapter didn’t waste time showcasing Daemon’s abilities. Apparently, he can detect a person’s killing intent and manifest the end result on the opponent. When a guard tried to shoot Daemon with a blaster, the explosion occurred right in that soldier’s face. Another soldier split his skull open with his own axe when he tried to attack Daemon. A third soldier’s head was chopped clean off because he wanted to do such a thing to Daemon.

While Daemon’s abilities come across as formidable, it made me think of the same question I had when Eida’s powers were introduced. Eida and Daemon are supposed to be cyborgs. That would mean there’s got to be some level of science involved, right? However, I can’t seem to think of any scientific explanation behind Daemon’s “Reflective” abilities. At first, I thought he was putting people under Genjutsu to make them attack themselves. But, it’s clear it’s something different.

Eida and Daemon feel less like cyborgs and more like supernatural beings that you would see reading the Bleach manga. Maybe Amado’s been experimenting with Otsutsuki DNA to give his cyborgs such weird powers? I have no idea.

Anyway, as of now, Code’s team consists of Eida and Daemon. All five villages are out looking for Code. So, it will be interesting to see if a three-person team would be able to defeat Naruto and Sasuke while kidnapping Boruto (to feed to the ten-tails) and Kawaki (to begin a romantic relationship with Eida. Yes, it’s very creepy).

Coming to what’s happening in the Hidden Leaf Village, Amado continued to use Kawaki’s insecurity of feeling inadequate to protect Naruto. Amado’s planted a very dangerous seed in Kawaki’s mind. Turns out, Amado’s capable of creating a new Karma Mark for Kawaki to access the Otsutsuki powers inside of him.

I liked Amado’s analogy of comparing being an Otsutsuki vessel to being a house and the Karma Mark being the key to said house. With Isshiki gone and Kawaki not having a Karma Mark anymore, the original key to the house doesn’t exist. However, Amado could create a new key for Kawaki to enter the house and use the Otsutsuki power his own way. It was similar to how Code’s been able to access his Otsutsuki power-up even though he’s not the perfect vessel.

I don’t know about you, but I think Kawaki’s going to go to Amado for a new Karma Mark. He wants to protect Naruto (a father-like figure to him). And I think Naruto being in trouble will encourage Kawaki to accept Amado’s offer.

The fandom clearly doesn’t trust Amado and neither does Sumire. Considering what we’ve seen from him, Amado’s definitely planning something. Why is he so interested in giving Kawaki a new Karma Mark?

While I appreciated Sumire bring up her concerns, I think she could have been a bit more tactful. Even Amado stated she could have extracted more intel from him if she had waited and kept her doubts to herself. He even asked if Shikamaru had made her his assistant to spy on him.

The anime has shown Sumire to be quite smart and capable. I think she’s got her reasons to be so upfront in front of Amado. I just hope she’s prepared to protect herself if Amado tries to silence her.

Some other thoughts and questions:

• I liked Shikadai taking a moment to bond with Kawaki. While Kawaki’s grown closer to Naruto and Boruto, it’s a good thing for him to start making bonds with the rest of Boruto’s peers to have a stronger connection with the village.
• I’m still thinking about how the manga really brushed off Kurama’s death. We didn’t get a single page focusing on what Naruto felt after experiencing such a huge loss. I guess the anime will spend more time on Naruto’s emotions. Fingers crossed.
• The title came from Eida wanting Code and Daemon to be her knights.
• Do you think Amado has a way to switch off Eida, Daemon, and Code? He created them after all.
• I wonder what Kashin Koji’s been up to after being gravely injured by Isshiki.

What did you think of ‘Knight’?

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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