Naruto's Greatest Meme Character Is About To Officially Take Down The Hokage

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The Hidden Leaf Village has held a pretty consistent reign among Kages in the Naruto universe, balancing some of the most powerful shinobi in existence with impressive individual achievements. It takes more than the average threat to take one down as a result, be it through succumbing to wounds from war, village invasions, or even a rampaging Tailed Beast. But not every Hokage needs to die for them to leave their position, either. Kakashi stepped down to let Naruto lead the village once he was ready, Naruto's only left the spot vacant due to being imprisoned by Kawaki, and Tsunade fell prey to political machinations that nearly stripped her of her role permanently.

But in the case of Shikamaru Nara, the provisional Eighth Hokage in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, the position may fall prey once more to the whims of feudal bureaucracy, rather than a killing blow. This was always a strong possibility for Shikamaru, having chosen to cooperate with Boruto Uzumaki, whose image has been warped into that of a traitor in the Omnipotence Arc. As seen now for a year's worth of chapters, Shikamaru's work is being heavily suspected of aligning with the Omnipotence-branded rogue ninja as a result, with the Daimyō (Feudal Lord) and his advisor, Kobu, consistently seeking proof of his wrongdoing. To everyone's surprise, the one who may seal Shikamaru's fate as Hokage is a Jonin who's become quite the meme character in Boruto.

Shikamaru's Time As Hokage May Be Over Thanks To One Meme Character

Originally introduced in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations chapter 39, Nishi is an intentionally unremarkable member of Konoha's Sensory Unit. His status as a Jonin is consistently undermined by a growingly consistent reputation as an underwhelming, arguably incompetent shinobi who can't even garner the trust of those he's sworn to protect, with Boruto doubting his efficacy in Boruto episode 290. It's justified, too, as Kawaki easily tricks Nishi in that same episode, despite being assigned as his protective detail, already a poor sign. Now, in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 37, Nishi's shown to have met with Kobu, supposedly providing enough testimony to prove Shikamaru's wrongdoing, threatening his tenure as leader of the village.

The internet does strange things with small characters, and in Nishi's case, his underachieving character was instead mythologized to a god-tier status, fans slapping a full coat of irony onto Nishi by making him Otsutsuki-level in terms of overall power. The shinobi known as Nishi soon became NishiGOAT, with his appearances celebrated throughout the series.

After all, Nishi's appeared multiple times now in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, vehemently refusing to help Boruto, whom he believes to be a traitor. He was seen previously engaging with Konohamaru, who was covering for Shikamaru, in chapter 29, possibly laying the groundwork for his testimony in the process. With the potential to bring Kobu the evidence he desperately wants, NishiGOAT may truly live up to his name, with the potential to bring down the Eighth Hokage despite not using combat at all.

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  First Film

  Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

  Latest Film

  Boruto: Naruto the Movie

  First TV Show

  Naruto

  Latest TV Show

  Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

  First Episode Air Date

  October 3, 2002

  Cast

  Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei

  Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.

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  Writer

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Writers

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Penciler(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Inker(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Colorist(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Publisher(s)

  Viz Media

  Years after fleeing his village with Sasuke, Boruto returns to confront the dark changes that have occurred. With memories altered and Kawaki now seen as the hero, Boruto faces a world where he is the outcast. The two rivals must settle their differences as their Otsutsuki powers grow more dangerous.