The special one-shot from Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto has been published and put online before the official April 25 release in Weekly Shonen Jump and tells the origin of Mitsuki, the mysterious new ninja with ties to Orochimaru.
But does Kishimoto’s possibly last written Naruto story deliver the goods and set up the upcoming Boruto series? Let’s find out.
SPOILER ALERT! It goes without saying that the following spoils the one-shot as well as events in Naruto prior to the story. Proceed with caution.
The one-shot starts with Mitsuki waking up in a sweat. Orochimaru and Suigetsu greet him in a lab with the legendary Sannin giving Mitsuki some medicine but the young ninja is too tired and battered to drink it.
Orochimaru leaves and instructs Suigetsu to take Mitsuki to his room when he becomes more awake. Mitsuki looks at his hands and asks who he is.
A hooded figure lighting a cigarrette is in Orochimaru’s quarters and tells the ninja that this is the sixth time and that he hopes the next time will go better.
Later, Suigetsu and Mitsuki walk the halls of Orochimaru’s lair when Mitsuki asks why he was in that bed. Suigetsu tells the young ninja that he lost his memories and that he failed a top secret mission with Orochimaru and got wounded. Orochimaru saved him and brought him back to the lair.
Suigietsu then suddenly attacks Mitsuki, but the ninja uses his snake powers to fend him off. Suigetsu tells Mitsuki that he’s good and stops the attack, he also tells Mitsuki that he may not remember what happened but his body remembers he’s a ninja.
It’s then revealed that Mitsuki’s memories were stolen by a man, which was his mission.
The two get to Orochimaru’s quarters where the Sannin tells Mitsuki that he is his parent and that they are going after the man who stole his memories. There’s a masked ninja that has the ability to steal information using a special jutsu. The plan is to take him alive and force him to restore Mitsuki’s memories.
The man, which they call “Log” has information that Orochimaru wants so that is the reason they were after him in the first place.
Mitsuki asks why Orochimaru brought someone so weak to the mission with him. Orochimaru tells Mitsuki that he is very special since he is his child. Mitsuki still doesn’t understand and just wants to know who he is.
Orochimaru promises that will be revealed as long as he sticks with him.
Elsewhere, Log senses Orochimaru and Mitsuki’s presence. The masked man is guarding a scroll when the two ninjas approach a barrier set up by Log.
Orochimaru tells Mitsuki that the young ninja needs to use his powers to break the barrier. Mitsuki doesn’t remember that he had such a power and Orochimaru says he will teach him how to use it.
Mitsuki puts his hand up to the barrier and it disperses. The two enter the castle that was protected by the barrier and Log meets them at the entrance.
Log uses his Paralysis Jutsu but it doesn’t work on the two like it did the first time they met. Seeing this, Log goes after Orochimaru and the two clash swords. Orochimaru summons a snake behind Log and the snake bites down on Log’s armor.
The masked ninja says that his armor is too strong and that he is protected against Orochimaru’s poison. Log uses his Armor Eater jutsus that absorbs the snake and Orochimaru. The legendary Sannin begins to get absorbed when he screams out to Mitsuki that he has Sage Power.
Log says to Mitsuki that he was aware of Mitsuki’s Sage Power when he used it against him before but he won’t make the same mistake again. Log uses his Paralysis Jutsu and freezes Mitsuki.
The scared ninja looks on in horror as Log is about to swing his sword down on him but suddenly freezes.
Orochimaru appears from the shadows and tells Log that he was too busy dealing with the larger snake that he didn’t notice a much smaller snake creep inside the armor and inject enough poison to paralyze him.
Unable to move, Orochimaru tells Mitsuki to watch Log while he goes and gets what he originally came for.
Log begins to talk to Mitsuki and says that he is having a hard time breathing because of the poison. He asks the young ninja to take his mask off to help with his breathing. Mitsuki immediately is skeptical but Log tells Mitsuki that Orochimaru is the one who is deceiving Mitsuki.
The masked ninja eventually convinces Mitsuki to take off his mask saying that he is the same as Mitsuki.
Mitsuki takes the mask off to reveal an older Mitsuki. Log begins to explain how they are both synthetic humans, created for the sole purpose of appeasing Orochimaru’s desires. He also reveals that Mitsuki comes from the combination of “Tsuki” meaning an empty vessel and “mi” which is derived from the sixth zodiac sign, the snake.
Log’s plan was to dispose of the “embryo” (the scroll) but it needed a key to open and expose the embryo. This was how Orochimaru was able to create these synthetic humans. He was gifted like the young Mitsuki but he escaped and vowed to stop Orochimaru’s plans.
Orochimaru returns and says that they are both perfect and that Mitsuki’s latent powers are greater than his own. And he asks Mitsuki if it’s wrong for wanting a child of his own?
Log pleads with Mitsuki to listen to him and warns him that it took him years to realize what Orochimaru was doing and to not make the same mistake he did. Orochimaru tells Mitsuki the opposite and tells him that Log is just saying these things so that he can escape.
Orochimaru has the key and the embryo and to go with him so they can go back home so he can create siblings for him.
Suddenly, Mitsuki activates his Sage Powers and tells them that it doesn’t matter who he goes with because he’ll decide what he wants to do for himself.
Mitsuki takes the key and embryo from Orochimaru and leaves.
Orochimaru says that he was finally able to activate Sage Mode. Log takes out a cigarette like the man from before and asks what he put inside the scroll.
The legendary Sannin says it’s the “sun” and Log says that the sixth time was when their experiment worked. Orochimaru was looking for a Mitsuki that would not choose between the two but find his own path.
But Orochimaru hopes that this one turns out well because he doesn’t want to erase his memories again.
Log says that this Mitsuki can be the “light in the darkness,” which Orochimaru says it can’t happen because he is his son. But Log says that perhaps he can become the light with help from someone else.
It’s then revealed that inside the scroll is a paper with Boruto’s photo in it and the words “mission complete.”
Log exposits that if Mitsuki is alongside the sun, then he can become the moon and illuminate the darkness.
Mitsuki smiles and has finally figured out who he is. He is Mitsuki.
