Naruto Uzumaki is the face of the Naruto franchise, having been the main character of the main series for over a decade. The sequel to Naruto, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, is currently ongoing and has seen some very interesting development surrounding the character of Naruto Uzumaki. Fans were worried about his fate right from the very beginning of the story where it was mentioned that Naruto was in danger. It was none other than Kawaki who implied that Naruto was either dead or severely incapacitated in some way or form.
Kawaki claimed that he would send Boruto, the son of Naruto Uzumaki, to the same place where he sent the 7th, implying that he might have been dead. Now, and the recent events of the Boruto manga, the fate of Naruto Uzumaki became much clearer.
What Happened To Naruto Uzumaki?
Naruto Uzumaki faced a very cruel fate in Boruto. Although he was the strongest for quite a long time and fairly capable of protecting himself, during the fight against Isshiki, he lost the vast majority of his powers. Kurama, who had been his main source of power for years upon years, finally died. After this incident, Naruto became much weaker and, thus, needed protection. As such, Kawaki took it upon himself to always keep him safe. However, he knew that the biggest threat Naruto faced was from his own son, who was possessed by Momoshiki, another alien parasite belonging to the Otsutsuki clan.
Kawaki decided to eradicate Momoshiki, along with all the other Otsutsuki members. Knowing that Naruto would stand in his way, Kawaki announced his plans to him and when the Hokage argued against them vehemently, he decided to seal him away in a different dimension. Things got even worse when Kawaki, while trying to escape, was approached by Ada. In front of her, he made his innermost desires known and told her how he would love to have the life of Boruto Uzumaki and have him be reviled by everyone instead. Ada used the powers of her Omnipotence to make this into reality. Kawaki became the son of the 7th Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, meanwhile, Boruto was branded as the boy who betrayed the Seventh Hokage and killed him. To the ninja world, Naruto Uzumaki is officially dead now, although he is actually alive.
How Will Naruto Be Rescued?
Saving Naruto Uzumaki is quite a difficult task for anyone to accomplish. For starters, Naruto won't be saved anytime soon and that is a given. This can be inferred from the very first chapter of Boruto which takes place after a 4-year timeskip. At this point in time, Boruto and Kawaki are seen fighting against each other atop the Hokage faces. Kawaki makes it very clear that the Hokage is still missing. He goes on to say that he would send Boruto Uzumaki to the same place he sent the Seventh. Merely reading this statement is enough to tell the fans that Naruto Uzumaki will remain missing for 4 years at the very least. During this time, the series will enter its timeskip and all the characters will likely get stronger.
After the timeskip, these characters will return stronger than ever before and when that happens, they will start looking for ways to rescue Naruto. The very first step in rescuing Naruto is acknowledging the fact that he is alive. This can only be done by Kawaki, Boruto, or someone who knows the truth about the situation, such as Sarada Uchiha or, perhaps, Sasuke Uchiha.
Once it is established that Naruto Uzumaki is alive, Konoha can then start an attempt to rescue their Hokage. To do that, though, however, they would need access to space-time ninjutsu which only Kawaki and Boruto possess at the moment. This means that the rescue of Naruto Uzumaki has to come through one of these two characters. Kawaki would eventually let Naruto out if he succeeds in his goal of killing Boruto Uzumaki. After all, he does care for his father figure and would love to see him safe. However, Kawaki is certainly not going to succeed in his goal, given that Boruto is the main character and is not going to permanently die. As such, Naruto's rescue can only come in one of two ways.
The first way is for Boruto to defeat Kawaki and bring him to the realization that the two need each other. This would mirror what Naruto and Sasuke did at the end of the Naruto series. Just like they released the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Boruto and Kawaki would then bring Naruto back home, meanwhile, Ada could reverse things to as they were before with her Omnipotence. The second way is for Boruto to rescue Naruto on his own, but with help from Momoshiki. Given that Isshiki is the only one capable of using the Daikokuten, it would be incredibly hard for Boruto to pull off something like that, however, Momoshiki is a man of mysteries and he could possibly know a way to rescue Naruto in the future. Either way, Naruto's rescue is going to come through the Karma of either Boruto or Kawaki, and fans will have to wait a lot for him to be saved.