WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations #40 by Masashi Kishimoto, Mikio Ikemoto and Ukyo Kodachi, on sale now.
The Boruto manga takes a devious turn in its latest chapter, with Jigen trapping Naruto in a mysterious dimension, leaving Konoha in dire straits after Sasuke returned badly wounded as well while Jigen, revealed to be a vessel for Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, regenerates at his Kara lair. He's also appointed Boro, his lethal enforcer, to bodyguard Naruto's prison.
In an even bigger twist, Boruto and Kawaki used their cursed Karma marks to move across space-time, opening a portal to Naruto and Boro. However, as Kawaki warned, Boro is the toughest enemy they'll ever face and despite their best efforts by maxing out their powers in Chapter #40, "The Invisible Jutsu," the battle against Jigen's right-hand man doesn't go according to plan.
When Boruto, Kawaki, Sarada (Sasuke's daughter) and Mitsuki (Orochimaru's offspring) arrive, Boro's shocked to see them as he didn't know they could harness their powers to teleport. He was expecting to finish off Sasuke but this confirms his enemy is broken back in the Land of Fire and now, it's become an even easier job. Much to Boro's delight, the emotional Team 7 rush in without much of a plan, although they seem to be effective early on because of their power-set.
Boruto and Kawaki use Karma to absorb Boro's manipulation of the elements, absorbing his ground-cracking moves, his acid jutsus and his fire blasts. They retaliate, with Boruto leading the way with some Rasengans, but to their horror, Boro regenerates in the blink of an eye. No matter what they hit him with, as bruised as he gets, nothing fazes him or leaves permanent damage on the inside. Even Sarada dropping rocks on him is a mere tickle, and Mitsuki realizes his teammates are being drained of their essence, unable to get closer to Boro as the fight progresses.
The killer's been weaving signs all this time and a dark mist has been around them in the atmosphere, weakening the young shinobi. Mitsuki susses the invisible attack out too late as the ninjas have basically been poisoned and immobilized by the air around them, allowing Boro to start battering the crew. Mitsuki, however, uses his snake abilities and manipulation of the elements to try to place a cursed seal on Boro.
Shockingly, the villain regenerates from this, rendering the deadly snake attack moot. Luckily, Mitsuki did use his wind powers to clear the air literally, buying them a window of opportunity as the boys can't even absorb the mist with their Karma marks now inert.
But it's not to attack... it's to retreat! Sarada grabs them up and flees as they need to reassess their tactics. The head-on strategy hasn't worked so they have to play defense now; not offense. Sarada is the chief planner and she recognizes they can't dent Boro's game-plan -- even with their strong arsenal -- so regrouping and coming up with a different approach is all they have left. Boro's not leaving the Hokage's prison, a giant bowl-like vessel, and the kids know they can't take the bait anymore.
They must be smart and patient in this chess game because there's no help coming from Sasuke or the Konoha ninjas because they have no teleportation means back home. Boro's cognizant of all this and is toying with Team 7 now, and the ninjas are running out of time. The more they linger, the greater the chances of a rejuvenated Jigen returning to the scene, which would more or less kill their rescue hopes off, and finally present the Kara leader the opportunity to take Boruto and Kawaki in as the two perfect vessels the Ōtsutsuki has been seeking for millennia.
Boruto #41 goes on sale Nov. 20.