Kishimoto’s Biggest Boruto Blunder: Turning the Coolest Non-Konoha Kage Into a Defender of Slavery

Of all the ways Boruto could have sent off one of Naruto Shippuden's coolest Kage, turning Onoki into the guy who built disposable soldiers was... not on my bingo card. The same stubborn legend who fought alongside Gaara and Naruto and bailed out Team Kakashi ends up funding bio-weapons with expiration dates and hardwired obedience. Wild swing.

The Onoki we knew

In Shippuden, Onoki was the grumpy MVP with a bad back and a mean right hook of wisdom. He helped unite the villages during the Fourth Great Ninja War, lectured Naruto when it mattered, put the fear of a thousand mountains into Sasuke, and clowned the Akatsuki. Also: Particle Release. As far as kekkei tota go, it is absurdly busted in the right hands, and his were the right hands.

How Boruto rewrites him

Boruto reframes Onoki as a leader terrified the next generation would relive what Naruto and Sasuke survived. To stop future wars, he secretly bankrolled a lab project that turned White Zetsu DNA into so-called perfect soldiers. Perfect, except for the part where they were unstable, short-lived, and conditioned to obey orders without question. That is a long way from protecting kids to building living weapons with no autonomy.

Where it all goes from bad to bleak

The team behind the program studied Mitsuki's synthetic body and floated an even darker idea: synthetic hearts modeled on human ones. In a universe where Orochimaru has already pushed every ethical boundary, this somehow felt like a fresh nightmare.

Ku, one of the creations, initially balked, saying it went against Onoki's whole peace-first philosophy. Then he got injured, changed his mind on the spot, and ripped the scientist's heart out to save himself. It worked. His cracked body knitted back together instantly. From there, the Fabrications' situation spiraled: their bodies were built to break down, they weren't out to hurt humans so much as they were scrambling to survive.

"They weren't villains; they just wanted to live."

What the Fabrications actually were

These were artificial humans built from White Zetsu material by a scientist working under Onoki. They weren't born, they were manufactured. They weren't trained, they were programmed. And a timer was built into their biology from day one. Onoki's logic was simple enough: replace real shinobi so kids like Boruto never have to step onto a battlefield again. The logic was human. The implementation was horrifying.

• Ku: inherited Particle Release; rejected the synthetic heart plan on principle, then, once wounded, killed the lead scientist and took his heart, which immediately restored Ku's deteriorating body.
• Sekiei: Explosion Release specialist, a walking ordnance lab with a short shelf life.
• Kako: could use Particle Release, but overexertion basically killed him; using too much chakra made these bodies crack and crumble like old pottery.

Turning on the village, for all the wrong reasons

With their clocks ticking down, the Fabrications turned on Iwagakure. Not because they hated people, but because they were desperate to extend their lives and finish the mission Onoki had set for them. It did not end well. One by one, they died from overuse or battle damage. Their story starts tragic and ends the same way.

Onoki finally saw the monster he had unleashed, but by then the damage was baked in.

Bold swing or character assassination?

On paper, the Fabrication arc had everything: thorny ethics, real emotion, flashy abilities. In practice, bending Onoki into someone who green-lit synthetic, dying soldiers reads less like complex writing and more like sanding off the legacy of one of the series' best leaders. Maybe you loved the ambition. For me, it undercut the man who once held the line when the world needed it.

Where do you land: gutsy and tragic, or a misfire that drags Onoki down with it? Drop your take below.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.