WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Vol. 12 by Masashi Kishimoto, Ukyo Kodachi and Mikio Ikemoto, now available in English from Viz Media.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Vol. 12 finds Konoha grateful that Boruto, Kawaki and Co. have brought Naruto home safe and sound after Jigen kidnapped the Hokage. However, they're still reeling as they have no idea how to stop the terrorist cell Kara's next attack, or what to do about Kawaki and Boruto.
Kawaki's Karma mark still makes him a weapon of mass destruction they can't predict or control, while Boruto's mark suggests Momoshiki is indeed corrupting him. Meanwhile, Kara's Jigen also realizes the villainous group isn't as secure as he once thought. With that in mind, let's dissect what happens with a spoiler-filled recap of Boruto Vol. 12.
Amado's Big Defection
After signs emerged that there were traitors in their midst, Kara finally begins to fray at the seams. Amado shuts down Delta using a cyborg deactivation code and heads to Konoha using one of Kashin Koji's great toads. With Jigen weakened after the Naruto kidnapping, they're now ready to make their big play.
Amado teleports to Konoha, fights off the teens guarding the gates and plants a collar on Shikadai that'll explode. It's all to get Shikamaru's team to bring him in so he can officially gain amnesty there. He makes it clear he'll spill all the secrets of Sasuke's interrogation, which he's already been leaving breadcrumbs about. A recuperating Naruto agrees to the deal because apart from wanting to pick his mind on the science of the mark, Amado has groundbreaking info regarding Jigen.
The Truth About Jigen
Amado confirms Jigen's really Isshiki Ōtsutsuki and that he came to Earth centuries ago with Kaguya -- something not from the original Naruto lore. She turned on Isshiki, however, as she didn't want to be fed to the God Tree, but he ended up shrinking down and possessing a nearby monk, Jigen. He'd plant his Karma on Jigen, too, waiting centuries for Jigen's body to become a proper vessel, all while engineering Kara to strike when the time was right.
Isshiki smartly played the field as he let the Akatsuki war pass, as well as Naruto and Sasuke's battle with Kaguya, secretly possessing his own Ten-Tails. Isshiki's plan is to be reborn in Kawaki once he feeds his Jigen form to the God Tree (which evolves from the Ten-Tails). This allows the tree to suck up all the planet's energy and produce the chakra fruit for the victor to consume. This is how these aliens evolve, and Isshiki wants to fulfil his destiny now that his subordinate, Kaguya, is no longer in the picture.
Isshiki Is Forced to Emerge
Amado confirms he and Koji found a loophole with the Karma marks. When Koji confronts Jigen -- who was created by Amado to kill the tyrant -- the plan isn't to just destroy Jigen. Instead, Koji's meant to force Isshiki's true form to emerge. The trump card is that while Kawaki is safe and sound in Konoha, his body isn't fully ready to host Isshiki, so he's ruled out for rebirth right now.
And so, Isshiki has no choice but to be reincarnated in Jigen once Koji uses his shadow clones and mystical flames to burn the monk up. An added bonus is once Isshiki comes out, the mark on Kawaki will disappear, which means there'll be one Isshiki left to eliminate to end his near-immortal reign in Boruto.
Kashin Koji's True Origin
Vol. 12 of Boruto has one final twist: as Isshiki arises and battles Koji, he destroys the traitor's mask and reveals his former colleague is a clone of Jiraiya the Gallant. It's a massive bombshell but not one we couldn't see coming. Koji looked like a younger Ero Sennin, after all; plus, his moves and use of frogs echoed that of the legendary Sannin. Koji also moved within Konoha's chakra barriers, which meant he had to have come from the Hidden Leaf.
This volume of Boruto ends there, leaving fans on the edge as to how this fight will play out and how it'll affect a Momoshiki-infected Boruto back home. More so, it creates massive potential for the future as Naruto could reconnect with the clone of his dead godfather -- now in the form of Koji.