Orochimaru’s Return in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex: Kashin Koji and Boruto’s Alliance

The spoilers for chapter 14 of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex are just around the corner, and while rereading the last chapter, I noticed something that could be a massive hint for Orochimaru’s return to the story. When Kashin Koji’s toad gets captured, and he finishes looking at Boruto, a text effect can be seen in the hideout, which most likely reflects the arrival of a person. Not to mention, Koji is looking in the same direction as well, which may be a hint that someone is coming for him. I believe this person visiting the hideout is none other than Orochimaru because it’s one of his abandoned places, and he could have somehow figured out there’s some activity.

So, Orochimaru uniting with Koji and lending him a helping hand would strengthen Boruto’s alliance. Together, they could figure out different ways to handle the Shinju situation and how they could aid Boruto in dealing with it. Orochimaru must be researching the Otsutsuki Clan and maybe the Ten-Tails, too, so he could have some intel that would come in handy for Koji. Now, if it’s Orochimaru, the question remains whether it’s his first time visiting this hideout or if he’s been secretly playing a vital role behind the scenes all this time.

Some hints to conclude that Orochimaru was already involved with Boruto and Koji include the accessories the prodigy wore. The Uzumaki amulet is something Orochimaru could have obtained from the abandoned shrines of this clan. Just like how he gave an aesthetic update to Sasuke back in the day, he must have done the same to Boruto with all these accessories. The cherry on top of this could be the reveal of more Uzumaki lore in the story. It’s not like Orochimaru would give this amulet to Boruto without giving him any background of his clan or anything like that, so a flashback of the snake sage giving us insights into the forgotten Uzumaki clan is also plausible.

Suppose you have read my article on this topic. In that case, you must know that the plot point of reality weaving has been connected to this clan for various reasons—Orochimaru is The only person who could have figured out something about the memory change. There are even theories that he has Otsutsuki roots due to his white skin color, which could have led to his immunity from Eida’s spell, making him the best candidate to help out Boruto and Koji.

Some more reasons that make it believable for Orochimaru to return and form an alliance with the duo have something to do with how the rivalry is being set up between Boruto and Kawaki. The red Karma wielder has a genius scientist on his side who would be too afraid to mistreat him just because he holds the DNA of his daughter. Without Kawaki, Orochimaru can’t revive Akebi, so he would most likely try his best not to disappoint him. In a nutshell, this means the old man is on Kawaki’s side. Eida is fulfilling K’s place for Kawaki, as she can provide him with real-time updates on significant events. At the same time, Koji can predict what’s coming for Boruto with a good amount of accuracy. Both of these people use Shinjutsu to help their allies.

Kawaki having a genius scientist in his group would be unfair for Boruto, so Orochimaru could soon return to Two Blue Vortex. The next hint for his comeback has something to do with Sasuke’s current state in the story. Orochimaru must have been intrigued to see Sasuke turn into a tree, and he could have researched to find a solution to bring him back. And here’s something that adds up to this possibility: Boruto told Kawaki that he needs the soul thorn bulb to revitalize Sasuke. But how exactly did he get this knowledge? I understand Koji’s prescience could have helped him see a possible future where they revive Sasuke, but wouldn’t that make prescience a power that has a solution to every problem?

The cyborg has already seen the awakening of a new Shinju, and even futures where the planet gets destroyed and Boruto is killed. A sneak into the future where Sasuke was successfully revived is something that he may not have foreseen, only because most of the futures he saw were dark and destructive. Seeing a possibility where the odds are in favor of the good guys would decrease the tension in the plot. So, there must be another way for them to figure out how the soul thorn bulb can be utilized. The person who could have helped them figure that out is Orochimaru.

Well, if you think that was the final hint to conclude the involvement of this OG character, then you are mistaken. He could be among the few who have figured out the divine shift of omnipotence. I think so because he had access to Mitsuki’s memories in the anime. This means he can cross-check all his life events, and upon finding inconsistencies, he must have started his journey to find out the truth, where he stumbled upon Koji and Boruto, and the rest is history.

We also have the symbolic meaning behind the union of Kashin Koji and Orochimaru. It is technically a reunion of the legendary Sannin to bring up the true savior of this world. Now, here’s a theory that may be a reach, but looking at the ongoing events in the story, it somehow makes a good amount of sense. Theaiya’s struggle has inspired the whole Kashin Koji-Shinju plot with the Six Paths of Pain and Akatsuki. Many hints advocate this possibility, starting from the appearance of all the Shinjus resembling the Six Paths of Pain. Then, we have Juro, the boss, diverting his attention to Kashin Koji, and this switch in his plans is so important that he leaves his main goal, which is to get rid of Boruto. In other words, the Shinju may be more severe about killing Koji than Boruto after realizing he is the source of all his knowledge.

By this analogy, Koji would either be trapped by the Shinju gang or go on a self-destructive mission to fight them, which would be dumb on many levels. So, I think there’s more chance for them to hunt him down and kill him. If Orochimaru is involved with Koji and history is repeating itself, he could temporarily engage with these creatures to learn more about them. Or, if that’s not the case, he would undoubtedly help Koji and Boruto with his research.

In the comments below, let me know what you think about Orochimaru’s return. Now, the next possibility for who may be Orochimaru’s visitor can be traced back to the anime. Kakashi confronted Koji in the anime and said he would soon find out who was behind that mask. This chapter also marks Sakura’s return, so the two most important OG characters will have a comeback in the same chapter if only Kishimoto decides to play out this setup from the anime where he made Kakashi confront Koji. The sharp intellect of Naruto’s sensei could have made him figure out the omnipotent spell, which may be why he went on his mission to search for Koji’s hideout that he finally found.

Kodachi, the former writer of Boruto, has already teased a significant role for Kakashi in 2017, so his return taking place around this time is a vital possibility. Some even say Kakashi may return as a Shinju in the story, and the cliffhanger was not for the Shinki-looking Shinju but for Kakashi-sensei, who was promised a considerable role in Boruto. But how true could that be? Weirdly, so many developments have happened in this story, yet the essential characters from the original series, like Tsunade and Kakashi, are nowhere to be seen. Looking at how the Shinju plot successfully utilized characters, it’s likely that these new creatures provide some lifeline to any character.

But whether the mysterious role of Kakashi was hinting at the Shinju awakening or something else is a mystery that only time can answer. In a recent interview, Kishimoto revealed that Ikemoto has been handling most of the scripting part of the story. While Kakashi made this foreshadowing, we didn’t see any hints about Kakashi in the story when he was writing Boruto. So, either his script got dropped, or he already knew what was in the works for the story’s future. But if Kakashi’s plot were an idea that got rejected by Kishimoto, then the return of Naruto’s first sensei would never get canonized.

Keeping all these blazing possibilities aside, it could even be that this sign was signifying the return of Koji’s toad to the hideout. If not that, then a claw grime may appear at the base, which means Koji is in danger, and the next chapter would have a bunch of action. So, it will either be a lore-heavy chapter or action-packed since we’ve got three to four people who could spit a lot of new intel—starting with Boruto, who could give us some clarity on how to deal with the Shinju and the utilization of the soul thorns to revive the victim. Further, he could be defending himself against the allegations of Konoha by using counters such as why Sasuke would have helped him if he was in the wrong or explaining the whereabouts of Naruto’s body if he had actually killed him.

Then we have Koji and his mysterious visitor, who would also reveal a lot of lore and the next moves that need to be followed from this point. After that, we have the new Shinju. As we know, the last time these people had a group conversation, a lot of stuff was revealed about their latest plans, like the need to capture Naruto, Konohamaru, Sarada, and Eida before devouring Boruto and Kawaki. One big reveal we should expect is the target of the fifth Shinju, and who it will be would really depend on the human who sacrificed his life for its formation. If it’s Shinki, then this new dude is coming for Gaara, or maybe Mitsuki, considering the events of the Chunin exam arc where they both had a brawl.

A few more things we should expect from this chapter include the involvement of the cyborg siblings after a very long time. Eida wanted to talk with Boruto, and now that he’s here, she could do it to understand everything more clearly—whether it’s his purpose, how he got so strong, and things like that. I was wondering why she couldn’t. She couldn’t see Senrigan look back to when Koji met Boruto in this way. She could know everything about him beforehand and wouldn’t necessarily need to have a conversation. But maybe the plot is setting her up to meet Boruto due to the setup of the bug Shinju, who wants to devour Eida. If Matsuri and Momoshiki enter Konoha anytime soon, they could find both Eida and Konohamaru under one roof, which may be why Boruto’s interrogation is essential to the story.

A few things that could take place with these Shinjus and their instinctual targets are exciting. Matsuri would devour Konohamaru to show us what happens when a target gets devoured. Momoshiki might get destroyed by Daemon to establish that Shibai’s DNA is still superior to the Shinju’s. Hidari might end up on the right track, betraying his leader, Jura, to help out Sarada, reflecting on what happens when a Shinju passes down his powers. The role of the new Shinju is still a mystery.