WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations #36, by Masashi Kishimoto, Mikio Ikemoto and Ukyo Kodachi, on sale now.
The Boruto manga has played up the Karma mark as even more powerful than the Cursed Seals Orochimaru, embedded within Sasuke when he tried to possess and control him in the Shippuden era.
Initially, we thought the Karma mark was something Jigen, an alien tied to Kaguya's clan, placed on Kawaki when he genetically engineered him to be the perfect instrument in battle. But as the latests Boruto chapter reveals, it's so much more, demonstrating just how strong Jigen's grip is on the young shinobi.
Thus far, we saw Karma powering Kawaki to levels even greater than Naruto and Sasuke when they were at that age. Oddly enough, with Momoshiki giving Boruto one as well, and increasing his abilities, it seemed as if it was simply tattoo that would transform young ninjas into weapons of mass destruction. But with Jigen growing tired of Koji Kashin's inaction in Konoha, the big boss himself decides to show readers what else the mark can do.
First, it's a tracker that Jigen uses to force Kawaki to open a wormhole, allowing him to travel from the secret dimension from which Sasuke was spying on him. That occurs in the blink of an eye, and Jigen transports to Naruto's living room to claim the boy, which means he never really needed Koji to retrieve the vessel. The mark can also be viewed as a wormhole through which Jigen can bring armies, without Kawaki having a say in the matter. If he really does gain full control of the boy, Jigen can dispatch him across any point in the space-time continuum.
What makes it worse for Kawaki is the mark begins to spread on him now that Jigen is cutting it loose. It borders on demonic possession because, as Kawaki gets angrier at Jigen for infiltrating Konoha and threatening Naruto, a horn sprouts from his head, and his beast form emerges. It's similar to Jigen's monstrous form, which means the mark has been perfected and, in time, Kawaki will be the vessel Jigen will inhabit or even copy.
We thought Karma was independent of Jigen, and once he gave it to Kawaki, it was the latter's to hone. However, as we're witnessing, Karma is a brand that makes the boy a slave to Jigen's wishes. It's eroding his humanity and willpower, acting as an extension of Jigen's consciousness.
The kicker is, seeing as it would allow Jigen passage to anywhere, anytime, he simply allowed Kawaki to enter Konoha so he could use the kid to get past the chakra barriers. It's a sneaky ruse, but again, it shows how conniving Jigen is, and how much of a tool Kawaki is to him.
Not even Naruto and the Konoha scientists figured this out, which now leaves fans wondering whether Momoshiki can do the same to Boruto after "blessing" him with his own Karma mark. Seeing as Boruto and Kawaki's marks do sync up and share chakra in a unique bond, another bit of speculation is that Jigen might be able to co-opt Boruto by hijacking his Karma.
Boruto #37 will be released on Aug. 20.