He’s mysterious and many Naruto fans are unfamiliar with him. Who is Kawaki in Boruto?
Kawaki is the implied future antagonist of the Boruto series. In the flash-forward, he threatens teenage Boruto over the scorched remains of the Leaf Village. Kawaki was purchased by the Kara organization’s Isshiki to act as his eventual vessel, but Team 7 was able to take him back to the Leaf Village. He’s about 16 years old, although his age has never been explicitly confirmed.
Boruto is considered to be a few years younger at age 12, so it’s a reasonable assumption. Boruto will likely be about 16 years old when he fights Kawaki, assuming the timeskip is in a 4 year increment.
Joins The Uzumaki Family
Kawaki is not naruto’s son. He was welcomed into the Uzamaki household during the Kara investigation to stay under Naruto’s protection, but Kawaki is not related to Naruto. Naruto did adopt Kawaki in the sense that he took him under his wing, but that means that Boruto and Kawaki are not brothers. They are instead friends.
Boruto and Kawaki’s friendship started off a little rocky. The Hokage’s son didn’t like sharing his space and he considered Kawaki to be irritable and unapproachable. After Kawaki broke Himawari’s vase, their dynamic became even more strained.
Kawaki is not stronger than Naruto, at least now. He asked the Hokage to teach him Ninjutsu and other ninja techniques. He doesn’t assume or challenge his strength against Naruto. His real Dad is unknown, but he was said to care little of Kawaki’s health. Isshiki purchased Kawaki from his father, promising the boy an end to his hardship with a bright future ahead.
The Karma Seal
The marks on Boruto and Kawaki are their Karma seals. Amado experimented on Kawaki so he may act as Jigen’s eventual vessel, awakening the marks. Boruto was given his karma seal by Momoshiki, taking over his body in chapter #53.
Kawaki got the karma seal after being part of one of Amado’s experiments. 15 children were connected to artificial wombs in an attempt to identify a healthy vessel for Isshiki. Only Kawaki survived and received the karma seal as a result. Kawaki is not evil, but Isshiki’s evil Karma does run through his veins.
Kawaki does not have the Jougan or the Sharingan, instead weaponizing his Karma seal and other ninja technology throughout his body.
Other Relationships
Sarada doesn’t particularly like Kawaki, but acknowledges his personality change over time. She initially thought he was a jerk. After Kawaki saved Himawari from a Kara member, Sarada took notice of him getting along better with Boruto and his friend group.
A few Leaf Village kids were running through a market area when they bumped into Kawaki. His first instinct was to turn around and attack, prompting Naruto to stop him. Sarada remarked that Kawaki can’t use his upbringing as an excuse to mistreat others. Naruto encouraged Kawaki to drop the silver tongue and become more sociable.
The Future of Kawaki
The future of Kawaki in Boruto is yet to be seen. He’s only just begun appearing in the anime, and new manga chapters come monthly. It is unknown where Kawaki sent Naruto. He threatened Boruto in the flash-forward, saying “I’ll send you where I sent the 7th Hokage.” It is unknown exactly what that means at this time, but it seems to imply Naruto is at least alive.
Kawaki appears in episode #181, titled “The Vessel.” It kicks off the vessel arc which introduces Kawaki and sets in motion the events leading up to the time skip.
This page will be continually updated as questions surrounding Kawaki are answered.