SMARTER THAN THE WHOLE VILLAGE AND LAZIER THAN A SUNDAY AFTERNOON: GUESS WHO JUST GOT FIRED AS HOKAGE?
Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 37 just yanked the shadow rug out from under Shikamaru Nara. The plan to remove Konoha's temporary Eighth Hokage is officially mature, and the guy holding the knife is a character most of you forgot existed. Let me explain why this is either brilliant writing or the messiest HR decision in shinobi history.
Konoha has a gift for turning political decisions into demolition derbies. Three years after the presumed death of Naruto Uzumaki left the Hokage seat empty, the village finally got comfortable with a placeholder, and now the placeholder is getting flushed with ceremonial precision. Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 37 dropped on September 17, 2026, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 11, and spent most of its pages building toward the war to come. Then, at the very end, it quietly confirmed that Shikamaru Nara's time as the Eighth Hokage is done, cooked, and plated. Konoha is officially bidding farewell to its temporary Hokage, and honestly, the drama is delicious.
Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 37 Finalizes Shikamaru's Removal From Hokage Office
This execution has been loading for a while. Back in chapter 36, released July 18, 2026, in V-Jump Issue 9, Kobu, who works directly for the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, sat down with the Konoha Elders and aired his suspicions about Shikamaru collaborating with the village's public enemy number one, Boruto Uzumaki. Kobu was dead set on proving the Hokage a traitor, and he said the quiet part loud:
“Abetting a traitor is a serious crime. It'd be no different for the accomplices, but for now, as the leader, the Hokage must be held accountable right away. I've already submitted a report to Lord Daimyo, so it is only a matter of time before we receive his approval to relieve Shikamaru Nara as the Hokage." — Kobu moves to replace Shikamaru as Hokage, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #36
Chapter 37 is where the blade finally lands. Kobu returns, tells Shikamaru his investigation has borne fruit, and announces that new testimony has come forth to support the dismissal. The source of that testimony is the gag of the century: Nishi, a sensor ninja who appeared way back in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Chapter 39. His whole job was using his sensory skills to monitor Boruto and Kawaki, and he worked directly under Shikamaru at the time. Seven real-world years later, this forgotten man resurfaces to deliver the final blow to his old boss. Firing a Hokage is already spicy. Firing him with evidence from a guy who has had seven years to think about what he saw? That's cinema.
With the removal edging closer, Konoha is expected to move fast on electing a replacement, because a village under constant existential threat cannot afford a leadership vacuum. One chapter set up the guillotine, and the next chapter sharpened it. The hat is as good as gone.
Shikamaru's Key Role In The New Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Arc
Losing the Hokage title does not mean Shikamaru loses relevance. If anything, chapter 37 positions him to become more important to the plot than he has ever been in the entire Boruto series, which is saying something for the man who has been carrying Konoha's brain department since 2006.
Kobu sealed his own case with a dramatic little flourish, calling out his witness by name:
“Thanks to you, I'm persisting with the investigation undeterred, and a certain piece of testimony has just come to light. It is the kind of evidence that conclusively proves your wrongdoing. Isn't that right, Nishi?” — Kobu confirms Shikamaru’s dismissal, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #37
The reason Shikamaru's story is about to get bigger lies with Kashin Koji. In chapter 36, Amado upgraded Koji's Prescience ability by shrinking the intervals between visions, and we saw one of those fresh visions moments before Sarada Uchiha got kidnapped by Code. In it, Shikamaru was standing in a wooden house, cooking, with Jura of all beings. Here is where we step off the confirmed path and onto theory turf, so keep your braincells alert. The speculation goes like this: once removed from office, Shikamaru runs into Jura and dedicates himself to keeping the sentient God Tree occupied while Boruto and Sarada attempt to delete both Code and Hidari in one swoop.
If that reading holds, Shikamaru's mission becomes absurd on paper and terrifying in practice. He has to befriend Jura, teach him the art of cooking, and stall him long enough to keep him away from the Shinju Hideout, which is apparently where Jura is fated to die. The former Hokage, unemployed for all of twelve minutes, pivoting to gourmet diplomacy with a walking natural disaster. We find out how that goes when the series returns on October 19, 2026, with chapter 38, which is gonna be one hell of a scene.
Why Konohamaru Sarutobi Is Set To Become Konoha's Next Hokage
While Shikamaru preps his cooking show, Konoha still has a vacancy to fill, and three years without a permanent Hokage is three years too many. The front-runner for the official Eighth Hokage position is a name that has been orbiting that chair for almost a decade: Konohamaru Sarutobi. The manga has quietly established that Kobu trusts Konohamaru to a real degree, to the point where he seemingly views him as the only man who can carry the village forward right now. Add the bloodline, grandson of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was a personal friend of both current Elders, and the résumé starts looking less like a pitch and more like a coronation.
The Elders, never a patient bunch, already tried to force the issue on Shikamaru himself:
"It has been three years, the period that you yourself designated. Stop dallying and accept the position of 8th Hokage formally. You're weakening our position, not just within the Land of Fire but with the other villages as well." — Konoha Elders confront Shikamaru over 8th Hokage Position
Between his strength, his stature, and his direct connection to the outgoing Shikamaru, Konohamaru rising to the position makes political and narrative sense. It also fulfills a dream he has carried since he was a kid swinging on the Third Hokage's monument, which is the kind of payoff this series loves. And let us be real: Konohamaru has been done dirty. One of the biggest criticisms of his character in Two Blue Vortex is the chronic lack of screen time, spending arcs disrespected by Mikio Ikemoto or outright shafted in favor of Boruto and Kawaki. Making him Hokage would finally hand him the narrative keys, plug him into major battles, and force him to tap into abilities we have never seen, which is exactly what fulfilling potential looks like.
This arc is pacing itself slowly, but the dominoes are clearly lined up. A fired genius, a fired-up underdog, and a village that desperately needs to look stable while everything underneath it rots. Massive respect to the anime and manga desk over at GameRant, who clocked every frame of this political takedown first. I simply arrived with popcorn, opinions, and a concerning affection for shadow-related unemployment. The latest chapters of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex by Mikio Ikemoto and Masashi Kishimoto are available on Manga Plus and Viz Media if you need receipts.
— ForgottenBlade_Ace
The Glitch ;-)
For the wider legacy behind Konoha’s story, read why Naruto remains so iconic.
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Written by
ForgottenBlade_AceForgottenBlade_Ace (Ace Sensei) — Admin, Primal Misfit Overlord, ghost entity neither here nor there. I write what I love: anime, games, movies, gossip, web novels. Chaotic Neutral. I draft the rules, then break them for sport. I am the Fool walking off the cliff on purpose — and if the system glitches, well… I am the system. I love my braincells. I love being weird — because weird is normal, and normal is the real weirdness. Welcome to the circus. I am the Fool, the ringmaster, and the guy who left the cage open on purpose. 🌚
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