Highlights
- After being largely absent in the first part of Boruto, Kakashi Hatake might have a significant role in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex.
- The illustrator of Boruto has hinted at big plans for Kakashi in future chapters, suggesting that he has not been forgotten by the author.
- Kakashi's upcoming role could be as the interim Sixth Hokage, taking on the responsibility of leading Konoha during a time of crisis and facing powerful threats.
Borate: Naruto Next Generations marked the conclusion of its first part a few months ago. The manga has, ever since, been on a hiatus and is set to return later this month. Fans have endured quite a long wait in order to see their story hit the shelves once again, however, this weight has certainly been worth it as hype for the upcoming sequel is already extremely high.
Fans are eagerly waiting for their beloved next characters to make a return and, at the same time, they are also hoping that the old Naruto characters get some time as well. Among the old Naruto characters, there is one in particular who was a fan favorite yet, for some reason, never got the attention that he deserved in Boruto. This character is none other than Kakashi Hatake, the former leader of Team 7 and a legend in his own right. It appears that Boruto: Two Blue Vortex might have huge plans for him.
Kakashi In Boruto's First Part
Kakashi was largely absent from the first part of the Boruto series. This is especially true for the manga, where he played little to no role at all. In fact, fans barely ever got to see him, so for him to have any involvement in the plot of the series was simply not possible. In the anime, on the other hand, Kakashi certainly played a somewhat minor role. Fans saw him conduct the Academy Graduation test for Boruto and his classmates and, later on, he also took on some intriguing tasks, such as investigating the Kara, and even clashed against Kashin Koji.
That said, at the end of the day, the Boruto anime and the manga are two different media, and, the vast majority of the fans would agree that the manga is the actual author's writing, so it holds precedence over the anime. As such, Kakashi was largely neglected in the first part of the series. This was a disappointment to many fans, especially the set of fans who had been watching Boruto in hopes of their favorite old characters getting some shine as well. From the old characters, only Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha ended up getting some attention. Even the importance of these two characters eventually ended up fading and they became shells of their former selves.
Again, that was something that didn't excite the fans at all, and they can only hope that the future of Boruto remedies that. When it comes to Kakashi, however, he was completely cut out of the manga, but there might be something big in store for him as Boruto: Two Blue Vortex closes in.
Ikemoto's Hints About Kakashi
Ikemoto, the illustrator of Boruto, who was largely responsible for handling the story, has talked about Kakashi in the past. It appears that he is well aware of the fact that Naruto characters have not played as important a role as fans would have liked. In fact, he was even willing to delve into spoiler territory by saying:
"It'd be a spoiler, but you have to wonder: why doesn't Kakashi-sensei get much screen time even though he's such a popular character? What a mystery. Not that I can say anything about it."
Ikemoto made it quite clear that he has something in store for Kakashi going forward and fans are eagerly waiting for what it could be. Although this interview came out quite a long time ago, back in 2019, fans are very well aware that authors often plan years ahead and execute these plotlines effectively even decades after. For instance, the prologue of Boruto is surrounding an event that is yet to occur, and even almost a decade later, fans do not know much about what happens to Konoha. This is proof enough that Ikemoto has not forgotten about Kakashi but has a special role for him going down the line that he is going to fulfill. With Boruto now very close to the release of Part 2, this role might be fulfilled sooner than fans think.
Kakashi's Upcoming Role
It isn't a surprise for fans to wonder about what role it is that Kakashi might be serving in the future of the series. The answer to that might just be in front of everyone this whole time, though. As fans know, Naruto Uzumaki has been declared dead and Boruto was labeled as his killer. This led to Boruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha fleeing from the village and the timeskip of the series effectively began. During this timeskip, Konoha does not have a leader. It would make sense for Kakashi to return as the Sixth Hokage until a new Hokage is elected. While a case can be made for an 8th Hokage to be elected, it must be remembered that there aren't many characters who can live up to the standards of Naruto just yet.
The strongest that the village might have at the moment could be either Kakashi or Sakura. And given that Sakura is incredibly busy with her own job, leading the medical unit, the best option here might just be to make Kakashi the interim Hokage, until the 8th is elected in the future. Furthermore, if the people of Konoha were to somehow find out that Naruto Uzumaki is alive but incapacitated, then electing a new Hokage would make no sense. In that case, focus would be shifted towards rescuing Naruto and, in the meanwhile, the 6th Hokage would then have to be re-elected. This scenario makes the most sense and it is likely that Kakashi's big role that Ikemoto was speaking of pertains to this situation.
How Strong Is Kakashi?
As the Sixth Hokage in Boruto, Kakashi will have a tremendous amount of responsibility on his shoulders. For one, Kakashi has never had to deal with much during his reign as Hokage. His time as the leader of Konoha was largely marked by a peaceful era, which just goes to show that he did a great job and, at the same time, he did get lucky as well. Now, Kakashi will have to get into the thick of it and deal with the threat of Code and the Kara organization, and, at the same time, worry about the invading Otsutsuki as well. Furthermore, he will also have to worry about the killer of the Seventh Hokage and the potential war that is going to wipe out Konoha.
To live up to the immense expectations of his upcoming role, Kakashi will have to step up and get stronger. It is highly likely that Kakashi might have grown in strength during the timeskip as well. While he certainly will be old at this point, Kakashi should still be in his prime and not into his old age. Even after the Boruto timeskip, he would be younger than Jiraiya was at the beginning of Naruto. As such, Kakashi will have had room to grow further and command the respect that he deserves as the Sixth Hokage. With massive threats looming over the village, it is his job to take the position of the strongest in the village and shock the entire fanbase with what he can do.
Boruto is available to read on MangaPlus.