Three new characters were recently announced forNaruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionsand all three of them use karma: a seal that contains a compressed backup of an Otsutsuki clan member’s genetic code so that they may be resurrected within the body of the person with the seal, known as a vessel. The karma eventually kills the individuality of the vessel as it slowly takes over the body but, before it does sokarma grants the vessel inBorutogreat power; in times of great stress, the Otsutsuki may take over the vessel’s body temporarily.
Karma as a concept didn’t exist in the originalNarutoseries, and were introduced in theBorutomanga. Because of the rarity of Otsutsuki characters on Earth, there are only a few characters who wield karma in the series: Code, Jigen, Kawaki, and, notably, Boruto. Every character with karma except Boruto received the seal because of their association with the group Kara, whether forcibly or willingly. Boruto’s karma originates from Momoshiki Otsutsuki, who implanted the seal upon his death at Boruto’s hands and tying his spirit to Boruto’s life.
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The Lore Behind Karma in Boruto
Karma seals are usually dormant and don’t have much of a physical appearance. When activated, the seal takes on the appearance of a tattoo and tends to spread across half the vessel’s body in a unique pattern, and is typically black, though Boruto’s manifests as blue and Kawaki’s as red. The vessel’s power and physical abilities are greatly amplified while in this state, and they’re even able to perform space-time ninjutsu with the karma mark.
The three characters announced so far who can use karma inNaruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionsare Boruto Uzumaki (Karma Mode), Kawaki (Karma Mode), and Jigen (Karma Mode), who is a new playable character in theNinja Stormseries. All three characters have their karma activatedwhile in Awakening Mode, increasing their speed, attack power, and jutsu strength.
Boruto and Kawaki are able to resonate their markswhen in proximity to each other to create powerful combo attacks. This can be seen across the manga, featured as a Combination Ultimate Jutsu and creating their own special move called Rasengan: Unison.
Karma and How They Work in Combos in Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections
Kawaki (Karma Mode) also has a Combination Ultimate Jutsu with Naruto (Seventh Hokage Mode), though the name for this combo is currently unknown. They’ll go up against Jigen,the vessel for Isshiki Otsutsukiand the founder and leader of Kara, an organization whose aim is to fulfill Kaguya’s original mission on Earth to create the God Tree and eat its chakra fruit. Jigen’s body served as an imperfect vessel for Isshiki, but still has all the power of the Otsutsuki inConnections. Footage and trailers featuring Jigen show him using black rods, space-time ninjutsu, and his iconic Disruption Cubes against Naruto (Seventh Hokage).
As karma has only been shown during these three characters' Awakening Modes, it’s assumed the ability is only available as an Awakening power. The possible exception to this is Jigen, who relies on karma moreso than Boruto or Kawaki. While there is one more character who has karma:Code, the current leader of Kara, there have been no announcements of his inclusion inConnections.There is still plenty of time until its release date of August 1 for an announcement of his inclusion though, so players who were hoping to see him on the roster should keep an eye out for updates over the next month.
Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionsis in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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