Sacrifice (Boruto chapter)

Cornered by Isshiki, Boruto argues that his enemy cannot bring himself to strike a killing blow, and when Sasuke presses for reasoning, the boy connects the clues he gathered while battling Boro. Sasuke ties this to Amado's earlier disclosures, and the two realise Boruto himself is central to whatever the Otsutsuki intends. Back in Konoha, Amado keeps unspooling the scheme, explaining that a Ten-Tails seedling can only mature into a God Tree once a living member of the Otsutsuki has been offered to it.

Amado details why the clan always arrives in pairs: one is given up to nourish the tree while the other stands guard until a chakra fruit ripens. Katasuke marvels that any being would trade its life for such a prize, but Kawaki points to the Kama marks as proof of its worth, and Amado notes the sacrificed party usually readies a vessel for its own rebirth beforehand. Sumire pieces together that Kaguya was meant to be Isshiki's offering, and that her rebellion forced him to press on alone. She then grasps the real horror, that Boruto is the intended sacrifice.

Unmoved by Boruto's threat to end his own life, Isshiki shrinks from view, tampers with the boy's kunai, and renews his assault. He compresses a Rasengan, snaps Boruto's arm, and pins him down while promising to feed him to the Ten-Tails, since a fruit grown from a young vessel far outclasses one drawn from a worn body like Jigen's. As Kawaki bristles at how thoroughly Amado has calculated everything, Naruto, unable to sense the vanished trio, listens to Kurama pitch a reckless plan worth attempting only because Naruto already expects to die. Naruto boots Isshiki away and signals Kurama to begin, leaving both Isshiki and Sasuke stunned by the surge of chakra.

Amado reveals the mechanics of the God Tree, the pairing custom of invading Otsutsuki, and the identity of Isshiki's original intended offering. Isshiki brutalises Boruto, breaking his arm and declaring him the next sacrifice. Kurama proposes a dangerous gambit to Naruto, who commits to it after kicking Isshiki aside.

This installment stands as the final Boruto chapter written by Ukyo Kodachi.