This post contains spoilers for Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #2.Boruto: Two blue tornadoes brought major changes to the status quo of the series, and its early chapters made the main character a lot less relevant. Now, Kawaki is the main character in the Boruto storyline, but he lost a lot of the spotlight in the first two chapters of Two Blue Vortex.
After reality was rewritten at the end of Boruto Part 1 and Kawaki took Boruto’s place in the new world, the opening chapters of Two Blue Vortex examine the consequences of Kawaki’s actions, while also letting fans follow the cast principal officer after three years. In Chapter #2, Konoha is attacked by Code’s Claw Grimes. Kawaki participated in combat but he certainly did not shine. He rushed into the fight without any real plan, was overwhelmed by one of the Grimes Claws, and had to be rescued by other ninjas. Meanwhile, the new version of Boruto single-handedly destroyed at least six Claw Grimes with minimal effort and boldly declared that he is now much stronger than Code.
Kawaki doesn’t seem to fit into the new Boruto world
Ironically, although Kawaki is the one responsible for rewriting reality thanks to his desire to use Eida’s Omnipotence, he is the character least affected by the new reality. Sarada still remembers the old world and is on a mission to restore the old world. Boruto is a rebellious exile with a new, cooler personality and the protagonist attitude that Boruto fans have always wanted him to have. Even Code seems to be more focused on Boruto as a rival than Kawaki. While Kawaki may have replaced Boruto as Konoha’s hero, he seems to be the one left in the dust in the early chapters of the sequel.
While everyone else seems to be involved in bigger things, Kawaki seems like a supporting character. He defended Konoha because it was under attack, but he didn’t have the power, prestige, or commitment one would expect. It seems like his entire purpose is to eliminate Boruto, and after completing it, his character has nothing left to live for. This is largely confirmed by the fact that Kawaki does not show any growth in this chapter, both in terms of personality and strength. He rushed in shouting “get out of my way!” arrived with his allies, was surprised by Claw Grime and had to be saved by Shikadai. This is in stark contrast to Boruto, who appears in the sequel with a completely new attitude and (what appears to be) impressive new powers.
Kawaki cannot replace Boruto
The depiction of Kawaki as incompetent and bland is likely intentional and makes a thematic statement about the nature of Kawaki’s character as well as his inherently tragic backstory. Although Kawaki wishes to replace Boruto, this presentation in the early chapters of Two Blue Vortex seems to prove that Kawaki is not worthy to replace Boruto. Kawaki may have changed reality, but he can only do so much to change himself and Boruto at their most basic level. Even in a rewritten reality, Kawaki seems to have been outsmarted and surpassed by Boruto. There’s still the distinct possibility that Kawaki himself realizing this fact will ultimately spur some character development in the later chapters of Two Blue Vortex.
