Kawaki

Raised as a weapon by the organisation Kara and abused as Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's intended vessel, Kawaki is taken in by Naruto and slowly learns what a family is. Gruff, distrustful and quick to violence, he comes to idolise Naruto above all else. That attachment curdles into obsession: convinced Boruto's Kārma dooms the world, he grows willing to destroy anyone who threatens the home he finally found.

Kawaki is a tall, wiry teenager with pale skin, sharp grey eyes and a permanently guarded expression. His dark hair is cut short and swept forward, with the front section bleached a light blond, and a dark angular marking sits along one side of his face. The black Karma seal is etched into his left palm. He usually wears a sleeveless high-collared jacket over a dark shirt and loose trousers, favouring simple, practical clothing. His modified body can harden into a dull metallic sheen, and scars from Kara's experiments mark his torso.

Kawaki begins as a hostile, closed-off survivor who assumes every adult wants to use him and reacts to kindness with suspicion or open aggression. Years of abuse left him with a low tolerance for authority, a blunt manner of speaking and a habit of solving problems with violence first. Living with the Uzumaki family slowly softens him: he becomes fiercely, almost obsessively protective of Naruto, who he regards as the first person to treat him as a person rather than a tool. That devotion curdles into something extreme, and he grows willing to hurt anyone, including Boruto, if he believes it will keep Naruto safe. He is quietly domestic, tending plants and helping around the house.

Kawaki was born to a violent, alcoholic father who beat him and eventually sold him to the organisation Kara for money. Jigen selected him as a candidate Vessel and had the Karma seal implanted on his palm, intending to use his body as a receptacle for Isshiki Otsutsuki's resurrection. The scientist Amado rebuilt him with Scientific Ninja Tools, wiring his body so that it could channel chakra directly and reshape itself into weapons. Repeated experiments killed many other children; Kawaki was the only surviving Vessel. Conditioned through pain and constant surveillance, he eventually fled his handlers and was hunted across the Land of Fire, badly wounded and unwilling to trust anyone, when Konoha found him.

1. Kawaki Arc

   Found unconscious and injured by Team 7, Kawaki is brought to Konoha and placed under the Hokage's personal protection. Hostile at first, he attacks those around him and tries to flee, but Naruto's refusal to treat him as a weapon disarms him. He is forced to fight Kara's Garo, and Boruto's shared Karma begins to link the two boys.

2. Kara Actuation Arc

   Jigen comes to Konoha in person to reclaim his Vessel. Kawaki's Karma flares in response, and he is helpless as Naruto and Sasuke are overwhelmed and Naruto is sealed away in another dimension. Determined not to be the cause of more suffering, Kawaki commits himself to the rescue mission alongside Boruto and Konoha's forces.

3. Isshiki Otsutsuki Arc

   With Naruto freed and Isshiki dying, Kawaki is targeted as the vessel needed for the alien's survival. Fighting beside Boruto, he endures Isshiki's shrinking techniques and helps stall him until the countdown expires. Afterwards he watches Momoshiki seize control of Boruto's body and destroy Sasuke's Rinnegan, which hardens his fear of what Boruto may become.

4. Code Arc

   Stripped of his original Karma, Kawaki accepts a new one from Amado that carries Isshiki's biological data, granting him the alien's space-manipulating techniques. He trains obsessively, clashes with Code and Eida's faction, and concludes that the only way to guarantee Naruto's safety is to remove both Boruto and, ultimately, the Hokage himself from the equation.

Naruto Uzumaki

Guardian figure

The first adult to offer him shelter without conditions. Kawaki calls him by an informal term rather than a title and comes to see protecting Naruto as the purpose of his existence, an attachment that eventually overrides his judgement.

Boruto Uzumaki

Rival and fellow Karma bearer

They begin as antagonists, bond as brothers through shared training and shared danger, then drift apart as Kawaki becomes convinced that Boruto's Karma will one day destroy everyone he loves.

Jigen / Isshiki Otsutsuki

Former captor

The man who bought him, implanted his Karma and tortured him for years. Kawaki's fear of Jigen shapes his early behaviour, and freeing himself from that shadow drives much of his development.

Himawari Uzumaki

Surrogate younger sister

Her unguarded warmth breaks through his defences faster than anyone else's, and domestic moments with her show the ordinary teenager buried beneath the weapon Kara tried to make.

Amado

Creator and uneasy ally

The scientist who rebuilt his body and later gave him a second Karma. Their relationship is transactional and uneasy, built on mutual usefulness rather than trust, with Kawaki fully aware he was once a project.

• The series opens with a flash-forward of an older Kawaki confronting Boruto in the ruins of Konoha.
• He is discovered unconscious in a crater by Team 7 and taken into the Hokage's home rather than a cell.
• He is forced to watch helplessly as Jigen seals Naruto away, which becomes the turning point of his loyalty.
• He fights alongside Boruto to stall Isshiki Otsutsuki until the Otsutsuki's lifespan runs out.
• He accepts a second Karma from Amado, gaining Isshiki's shrinking and storage techniques.

• His name is written with a character associated with dryness or thirst.
• He is the only Karma vessel of Kara known to have survived the implantation process.
• Despite his harsh manner he takes quietly to domestic chores and caring for household plants.
• His Karma appears on his left palm, mirroring Boruto's on the right.
• Living in the Uzumaki house, he adopts casual civilian clothing and never formally becomes a genin in the anime.

• BBoruto Uzumaki
• SSarada Uchiha
• MMitsuki
• Naruto Uzumaki
• Sasuke Uchiha
• Konohamaru Sarutobi

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