The Academy Entrance Arc is the opening storyline of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, introducing Boruto Uzumaki and his classmates while gradually building a supernatural mystery inside the Hidden Leaf Village. At first, the incidents appear unrelated, with students and villagers suddenly becoming aggressive, exhausted, or influenced by strange negative emotions. Boruto discovers that something invisible is behind the attacks, eventually connecting the phenomenon to a mysterious creature called Nue.
The investigation also brings Boruto closer to his quiet class representative, Sumire Kakei, whose seemingly innocent personality hides a painful connection to the attacks. The arc runs through the anime’s first 15 episodes and combines Academy life, friendship, mystery, and Sumire’s revenge-driven plan. What begins as a strange “ghost” incident ultimately becomes a story about trauma, forgiveness, and choosing your own future rather than becoming trapped by someone else’s hatred.
How Boruto Uncovered the Truth Behind the Nue Incident
The strange incidents begin when Nue, a creature capable of sensing and feeding on negative emotions, starts influencing people around Konoha. Its victims become consumed by their darker impulses while losing chakra, allowing Nue to gradually grow stronger. Boruto’s unusual eye ability lets him notice the strange chakra phenomenon surrounding the victims, making him one of the few people capable of recognizing that the incidents are connected.
The mystery eventually leads to Sumire, who was secretly born Sumire Shigaraki and had been raised by her father, Tanuki Shigaraki. Her father was connected to the former Root organization and trained her to carry out a revenge plan against Konoha. As part of that plan, Sumire became the vessel for the Gozu Tennō, which allowed her to summon and nurture Nue while secretly manipulating the creature’s attacks.
Sumire’s plan reaches its climax when her identity is discovered and Nue launches a massive attack. Boruto and Mitsuki follow Sumire into Nue’s pocket dimension, where Boruto refuses to simply treat her as an enemy. Instead, he recognizes that Sumire is struggling against the hatred forced upon her by her father and encourages her to choose a different path.
The turning point comes when Nue refuses to consume Sumire’s chakra and instead shows affection toward her. Boruto realizes that because Sumire raised Nue, the creature has come to regard her as a parent rather than merely as a source of energy. Sumire finally lets go of her father’s hatred, causing the Gozu Tennō to break down and the pocket dimension to collapse.
Sumire survives, turns herself in, and is eventually allowed to return to the Academy after receiving leniency. A portion of Nue’s essence remains connected to her, allowing the creature to survive in a much smaller form. The Nue Incident therefore becomes more than Boruto’s first major mystery: it establishes Sumire’s redemption and introduces a character whose later relationship with Boruto’s generation becomes important.