Boruto: Ten Directions Explained

In Chapter 13, we learn that Kashin Koji has the ability to see the future through an ability called “Ten Directions”. How will this ability help Boruto against Jura’s God Trees, Code, and the inevitable clash with Kawaki?

Name

The ability’s VIZ media name is Prescience, which is the name of the same foresight ability from the Dune franchise by Frank Herbert.

However, the Japanese rendering is 十方­ (Jippō) or Ten Directions. Like most powerful jutsu in the Naruto franchise, Ten Directions has a Buddhist reference.

The Ten Directions refers to the entire universe, to all of physical space. Ten Directions comprises of the eight directions in the compass—north, south, east, west, northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest— and up and down.

Buddhist scriptures brings up the existence of “Buddha lands” in all directions or “the Buddhas of the ten directions”.

Lastly, the phrase “ten directions” connects to the phrase “three existences” or “three times” (past, present, and future), Put together, all Buddhas exist throughout space and time.

This is quite a neat link to the Ten Directions ability because it gives us a good explanation of how extensively it works.

How did Kashin Koji awaken Ten Directions?

In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 13, Koji explains that like the Senrigan,Ten Direction is a form of shinjutsu since he has the cells of Shibai Otsutsuki implanted in him. This means that Shibai had the power to see past, present, and future events simultaneously.

In the same chapter, we also learn that every member of Kara had the cells of Shibai Otsutsuki transplanted into them.

Shibai was the god Otsutsuki whose body was left behind after transcending the mortal plane. Amado used his body to revive Shibai’s shinjutsu into the current world.

Only three Kara members: Code, Daemon and Eida, awakened powers. The others, such as Boro, Delta, and Koji, did not. 

That was until Koji was defeated by Isshiki. In that moment of utter defeat, Kashin Koji witnessed numerous future events unfold in the form of film reels.

This means that the battle awakened the dormant cells of Shibai inside Koji’s body and thus Koji acquired his own shinjutsu.

What is Ten Directions?

The Naruto franchise is no stranger to clairvoyance powers.

In the original Boruto manga, we were introduced to the Senrigan, a clairvoyance dojutsu (eye technique) that allows the user to see past and present events.

In non-canon territory, there is a dojotsu from the first Shippuden movie wielded by the priestess Shion that is capable of telling a linear future.

Urashiki Otsutsuki’s Rinnegan has the power to “rewind time”, going back several seconds into the past in order to counteract any present attacks, as if the user has clairvoyance.

Ten Directions is more than the ability to see the future.

This ability is quite fitting for Koji’s character, a person born with an unusual fate as the synthetic clone of Jiraiya. Like Mitsuki as Orochimaru’s son, Koji as a synthetic human exists to alter the predestined fate of his genetics, even a premature death. 

Before seemingly dying, Koji witnessed many futures unfold, including the events after the casting of Omnipotence.

Although Koji was still affected by Omnipotence, through his experience with Ten Directions, he was able to see Omnipotence and connect the dots.

This is how Koji believes Boruto’s story about being the real biological son of the Seventh Hokage and his position being swapped with Kawaki.

The best usage Ten Directions has is to accelerate Boruto’s growth.

As readers may have noticed, the first chapters of Two Blue Vortex have shown Boruto’s quick mastery of advanced jutsu, including Rasengan Uzihoko, which allowed Boruto to restrain Code and basically control the budding Otsutsuki’s fate.

Kashin Koji saw many potential futures and the skills Boruto acquired, which led to Boruto gaining them at the present. This almost feels like a closed causal loop, where those futures, or at least pieces of them, do not have a specified origin, so in a way they are fulfilled all at once.

Possible Futures

So far, Koji has seen the following paths that have been avoided:

1. Naruto’s death, Boruto’s sacrifice

Naruto’s death at the hands of Isshiki, which would lead to Isshiki reincarnating through Kawaki’s Kāma and using Boruto as the sacrifice for the Ten-Tails to plant the God Tree. 

2. Boruto and Sarada’s death, Kawaki’s sacrifice

Boruto’s death at the hands of Kawaki, who also kills Sarada after the latter tries to defend Boruto.

Omnipotence is not cast by Eida, thus there was no swapping of positions.

However, this does lead to Kawaki being made into a sacrifice for the Ten-Tails by Code.

Regardless of the futures seen or avoided, the Ten-Tails defies Code and breaks into multiple sentient God Trees.

In Chapter 13, we see a new addition among the known four led by Jura, which would be birthed by the end of the chapter.

In most futures, Boruto will be killed by Jura and Kawaki eaten by Ten-Tails. The God Tree’s growth will ensure the world will end.

Ten Directions and its Connection to Boruto’s Fate

The Boruto series has emphasized the role of fate, beginning with the prologue of the manga itself being set many years in the future, where the Leaf is destroyed.

Kawaki is the villain who destroys the village and has sent Naruto somewhere else. Initially, we assumed Kawaki has killed Naruto as well.

This cold open was masterfully written because it has a lasting effect on the reader.

We eagerly anticipate how the events of the series will lead to that battle between Kawaki and Boruto.

Throughout the series, there have been many fates that were averted.

First was Naruto’s death being averted because Kurama was the one to bear the cost of Baryon Mode

There is a possibility that this event is also a foreseen future that was already prevented but it might actually happen, albeit in a different way than we envision throughout our experience of the Boruto series.

Another important thread is Momoshiki’s prophecy for Boruto, where Boruto will lose everything before his very eyes.

In Boruto Chapter 10, we learn that Momoshiki’s Byakugan has the unique ability to see the fate of someone in his gaze but the eye cannot see Momoshiki’s fate.

This fate was already shown through Ada’s casting of Omnipotence and switching Kawaki and Boruto’s positions.

Momoshiki’s Byakugan saw one possible future but not everything else. Then again, it is possible Momoshiki revealed only a part of the prophecy to manipulate Boruto.

Could he have Ten Directions as well or does the Byakugan have an innate future sight ability that evolves into Ten Directions?

Both Momoshiki’s prophecy and the Boruto cold open are always in the reader’s minds.

While Boruto is burdened by the Byakugan’s fate reading, Boruto also has a mysterious visual ability to navigate through the tumultuous storms of fate, the Jougan.

In the anime, via a dream, Toneri made Boruto aware of the Jougan’s existence, which was critical to stopping the Nue beast and its corruption of people in the Hidden Leaf.

The Jougan would show itself multiple times in the anime and was even seen in the first chapter of the Boruto manga. Kawaki slashed Boruto’s right eye but the Jougan remained usable years later, which means it has a crucial role in his fate.

In the anime, the Jougan is shown to be able to see through some dimensions such as the Yomutsu Hirasaka and the chakra pathway system.

But by possessing Momoshiki’s biological data and the knowledge of Koji’s Ten Directions, perhaps the Jougan can read fate in a similar way or possibly directly write a new path.

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