Theory by TrappedInTokyo on 7/29/2025
Eventually, Code is gonna stop being a fraud. But for that to happen, the story needs to give him a power-up that doesn’t feel completely random or forced. When Code was first introduced, he was scaled above Jigen… the same Jigen who overpowered unnerfed Naruto and unnerfed Sasuke in a straight 2v1. That alone put Code on a tier that was supposed to be borderline untouchable. The only reason he wasn’t already dominating the verse was because he had limiters placed on him voluntarily, just to avoid stepping on Jigen’s authority. Removing those limiters was hyped as a worst-case scenario… something that would unleash a planetary-level threat. But in execution, Code hasn’t lived up to any of that. Post-timeskip, his best achievement is forcing Sasuke to sacrifice himself to buy Boruto time to escape… and that’s against a version of Code with no limiters, no excuses. Pre-timeskip, he barely held his own against Kawaki while still wearing his limiters, and even then, the moment Kawaki was about to end him, Code had to rely on Daemon’s reflective ability to flip the fight and run. These aren’t the stats of a top-tier villain. They’re the stats of someone who’s been carried by borrowed power and hype with no payoff. If they want to finally make Code feel like the threat he was set up to be, they have no choice but to give him a turning point that reflects his nature… something selfish, brutal, and final.
That’s why the Thorn Bulb matters….
My theory is that Code is going to appear during or after the Daemon vs. Mamushi fight and consume Mamushi’s Thorn Bulb himself. That would permanently seal Bug (who was transformed into the Shinju named Mamushi) with no way to be freed. The entire function of the Thorn Bulb is to unseal those sealed in trees by Claw Grimes, and Code would know that. But the fact is, he doesn’t care. He’s never respected Bug… never valued his life… and has no incentive to save him. Code’s character is built on using those he sees as beneath him, and Bug has always been treated like dead weight. Villains in Naruto have always powered up off the backs of those they discard… Orochimaru with Kin and Zaku (for Edo Tensei), Madara manipulating Obito through Rin… it’s a pattern. Code doing the same to Bug would be completely in line with that tradition. And narratively, it would give the writers the perfect excuse to fix Code’s biggest weakness: the fact that Kawaki can just shrink his Claw Marks with sukunahikona and nullify his entire jutsu. Code’s portal technique is a mix of chakra and blood iron that creates black bands he can enter and exit through… a weaker but still dangerous spin on Flying Raijin. He was supposed to be an elusive, high-speed threat who could strike from any direction. But none of that matters when someone like Kawaki can just shrink the marks and remove Code’s entire transportation and assassination method. To make Code viable again, they’ll need to introduce a change (probably through this power-up) that makes his Claw Marks immune to shrinking or tampering. Once that happens, he’ll finally be able to use his jutsu the way it was meant to be used… but until then, the fraud allegations will keep sticking.
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