Naruto's Sequel Took One Jutsu From Broken To Outright God Tier
Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #33! The shinobi world of Naruto generally built out its vast ninjutsu system to serve more purposes than simple combat, even if said jutsu like the Rasengan or Chidori rank among its most iconic. The franchise's ninjas generally operate at their best when they incorporate clever tactics into their abilities to make up for power deficiencies, as seen in characters like Shikamaru Nara. But in the latest sequel series, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, one slept-on jutsu primarily used in the past as a support move or for intelligence purposes, just singlehandedly destroyed a horde of Divine Tree-level threats.
Inojin Yamanaka has stubbornly stayed alive despite a disastrous near-miss moment against Jura in the Boruto sequel's first arc. Motivated by a desire to protect Himawari Uzumaki and his friends from a dark future foreseen by Koji Kashin, and backed into a corner when his brand-new jutsu suddenly doesn't cut it, Inojin joins the fight and digs out a classic jutsu originally seen in the Chunin Exams for longtime Naruto manga readers. Despite Mamushi the Human Divine Tree being able to multiply into the thousands, his intelligence dwindles with each new clone; that opens up his collective consciousness to be completely dominated by the Mind Transfer Jutsu.
Naruto's Sequel Makes Inojin the New MVP with His God-Tier Use of a Classic Jutsu
In the final pages of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter #33, with Boruto, Kawaki, Eida, Daemon, Himawari, and Inojin's Team 10 teammates backed into a corner, Inojin realizes the Mind Transmission Formation jutsu is no longer helpful. As he joins the battle, Amado Senzu observes while noting that Mamushi isn't a network of new minds connected to one central hub, but rather, a single, collective consciousness. So Inojin has Shikadai subdue one with Shadow Paralysis for which Inojin rolls out the Mind Transfer Jutsu. It operates as if Inojin taps into the entire Mamushi circuit, controlling the entire swarm and neutralizing the threat.
Related
"I'm Not Him": Shikamaru Just Proved Why He's a Way Darker Hokage Compared to Naruto
In the world of the shinobi, brutality persists, and a ninja leader must make decisions that may not align with their personal preferences.
Knowing the only way to stop Mamushi's ability is to destroy both of his Rinnegan eyes, Inojin calls on Daemon's ability to reflect killing intent, to destroy every Mamushi clone's eyes in an instant, including Inojin's as a controller. It's a positively lethal combo that stops a threat which overwhelmed Himawari as a Jinchuriki, as well as Sarada's Ohirume, and other heavy-hitters like Boruto and Kawaki. The threat is stopped right there, with Inojin's back-to-basics moment being a smart reaction to an already-altered future falling out of control after Koji had him learn the Mind Transmission Formation. It's a stern reminder that Koji's Prescience isn't all Boruto's allies can rely on.
Boruto's Team Can Still Stop the Darkest Timelines with Their Greatest Asset: Their Minds
Boruto Two Blue Vortex Strongest New Jutsu
While key wins like against Hidari or Ryu were the result of Boruto and Sarada respectively unleashing some of their deadliest attacks to reduce Divine Trees to their Thorn Soul Bulbs, Mamushi was a strong case for lateral thinking in the Naruto sequel. The characters have been winning and collecting aura points on big powerful attacks, but against an overwhelming opponent quickly exceeding their control, Inojin played the right move by abandoning his newly-formed jutsu, realizing Mind Transfer Jutsu was perfect here.
Not only does it expand a hypothetical where the Yamanaka clan's underrated secret weapon can tap into a hive mind, it taps into what made the Naruto series originally so great. Cleverness in combat resulted in Shikamaru outwitting Hidan, who previously outplayed Shikamaru's mentor. It also produced iconic early moments like Naruto concealing himself as Sasuke's Demon Wind Shuriken when fighting Zabuza. The characters of Naruto never had glimpses of the future to hand them their wins. But Prescience's true asset isn't a guaranteed victory, but rather, intel on all battle variables. With Himawari able to heal Inojin's wounds after the fight, it seems like a flawless victory.
But at the same time, Boruto's characters show the interesting divergent futures that form when they know what's ahead and take action. Koji's Prescience undeniably led to Konoha's innocent lives largely going unscathed in this recent attack, and Himawari and Eida stayed alive, unlike in another timeline. But if not for Inojin's quick thinking, every single ally would have died on that field. So it's clear that Mikio Ikemoto and Masashi Kishimoto are intending for Boruto: Two Blue Vortex to re-prioritize big tactical feats to react to the insane variables of a chaotic set of dark futures, making future fights all the more promising.
