The Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga ended with a whirlwind of chaos. Kawaki activated his new dōjutsu, sealing Naruto and Hinata away, while Eida’s omnipotence rewrote reality. When the time skip hit in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, the world believed Boruto was a rogue ninja and Kawaki was the Hokage’s true son. But the most heart-wrenching question remained: what truly became of the generation’s greatest heroes? Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were left in limbo, and the manga has slowly unraveled their fates through shrouded hints and eerie revelations.
The Sealing of Naruto and Hinata: A Timeless Prison
In the final moments of Part 1, Kawaki tapped into Isshiki Ōtsutsuki’s Daikokuten power—a space-time technique that instantly seals a target into a pocket dimension where time does not flow. His goal was to protect Naruto from Momoshiki’s prophecy, so he transported both the Seventh Hokage and his wife Hinata into that frozen void. Chapter 80 depicted Kawaki’s tearful farewell as the couple vanished, leaving behind only their worried daughter Himawari.
Since then, Two Blue Vortex has confirmed that Naruto and Hinata remain trapped. They are not dead, but they exist in a state of suspended animation, unaware of the chaos ravaging their world. The omnipotence spell only deepened the tragedy: everyone except Sarada, Sumire, and a few immune individuals believes that Naruto and Hinata were killed by Boruto during his supposed betrayal. Kawaki’s fabricated memories have turned the village against its true hero, while the real Hokage rots in a dimension beyond reach. The narrative has yet to show any way to free them, but fans speculate that only Kawaki’s dōjutsu—or a similar space-time ninjutsu—could reverse the seal.
Sasuke’s Grim Transformation: From Legend to Divine Tree
While Naruto and Hinata were sealed, Sasuke’s fate took a far more sinister turn. As he attempted to protect Boruto during their escape from Code’s assault, the one-armed Uchiha was critically wounded. In a cruel twist, Code’s claw grimes—monsters derived from the Ten-Tails’ chakra—captured the weakened Sasuke and implanted him with a divine tree seed. His body was gradually transformed into a tree, a process that climaxed in the time skip’s opening chapters.
The result is one of Two Blue Vortex’s most haunting reveals: a Shinju clone named Hidari sprouted from Sasuke’s tree. Hidari bears an unsettling resemblance to Sasuke, with the same facial features, dark hair, and even the iconic Sharingan—though twisted with Ōtsutsuki markings. He now serves as one of the main antagonists, alongside Jura, Matsuri, and other divine tree beings, all seeking to devour chakra and achieve their own evolution. The original Sasuke is presumed to be still inside the tree, but his consciousness and life force remain a mystery. The manga has neither confirmed his death nor offered a clue about how he might be rescued.
Why Their Absence Redefines the Next Generation
The narrative of Two Blue Vortex deliberately isolates the old guard to force the new heroes—Boruto, Sarada, Kawaki, and even Himawari—to step up. With Naruto sealed, the Hokage seat is empty, leaving Shikamaru as an interim leader shouldering an impossible burden. Hinata’s absence leaves Himawari without a mother figure, while Boruto must shoulder his father’s legacy while being hunted as a criminal. Sasuke’s transformation into a tree has robbed the world of its strongest shadow Hokage and removed Boruto’s mentor, cutting the emotional tether between the old and new generations.
Thematically, this is a grief-laden coming-of-age story. Boruto’s journey mirrors Naruto’s early loneliness, but amplified by the fact that his parents aren’t dead—they’re just forever out of reach. Sarada’s immunity to omnipotence and her determination to rescue Sasuke fuel her Mangekyō Sharingan awakening, proving that love can defy even reality warping. These losses have solidified the series’ darker tone, turning the stage into a battlefield of personal and philosophical conflicts rather than simple good vs. evil.
Can They Be Saved? Theories and Foreshadowing
The manga has dropped a few breadcrumbs for hopeful fans. Kawaki’s sealing technique likely has a counter mechanism; Momoshiki once mentioned that Daikokuten’s pocket dimension can be breached if the caster is killed or the seal is undone by someone with Ōtsutsuki-level space-time abilities. Boruto’s growing command of his Kāma and Momoshiki’s powers—combined with his Vanishing Rasengan and Jougan’s mysterious nature—hints that he might one day breach that seal. Similarly, the Shinju clones have shown a peculiar sentience; Jura’s desire to consume the Hokage’s chakra could inadvertently lead him toward the sealed dimension, creating an unintended rescue mission.
As for Sasuke, the tree that holds him is likely vulnerable to a strong enough attack or a chakra resonance from Sarada’s Mangekyō. The series has yet to explain the full mechanics of the divine tree transformation, but Naruto lore already has a precedent: Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was sealed inside a heavenly body and later unsealed. It’s plausible that Sasuke’s tree is a similar prison, and the Shinju clone Hidari is a fragment of his power rather than his true self.
A New Era Without Its Legends
Boruto: Two Blue Vortex thrives on the emotional void left by Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke. Every chapter reminds us that the bright, hopeful Konoha they built is teetering on the edge of collapse. Yet, anime wisdom tells us that no hero stays down forever. Whether through a daring rescue, a dimensional clash, or an even greater threat that demands their return, the stage is set for a comeback that could rival the greatest moments in Naruto history. Until then, their absence speaks louder than any jutsu.