Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 18 highlights the fatal flaw of Shikamaru's plan

As seen in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 18, Shikamaru Nara's plan to befriend the Human God Trees and betray them seemed to fail after both Matsuri and Ryu went after the Shinobi in the latest chapter. While Matsuri disliked that Konohamaru held Moegi in high regard, Ryu experienced betrayal firsthand.

While the interim Hokage's plan seemed plausible, the manga franchise had already showcased countless reasons why the risks surrounding it exceeded the possible reward. Hence, no matter what precautions the Shinobi took, they were bound to always be susceptible to the one fatal flaw.

The surprising thing is that even Shikamaru seemingly didn't see this coming.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 18 highlights how Shikamaru's plan was always set up to fail

Konohamaru and Shikamaru as seen in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex (Image via Shueisha)

As fans must remember, the manga's previous chapter saw Shikamaru Nara dub the Human God Trees as "Wild Beast Cubs," who inherently weren't evil but were strong enough to impose a great threat. This is why he framed a plan that would see the Shinobi appeal to the Human God Trees' innocent side, befriend them, and later betray them to acquire their Thorn Soul Bulbs.

While the plan did seem plausible, it was never as easy. This was especially evident from the events that took place in the past. As seen in the Naruto franchise, several characters' lives had taken a turn for the worse after they went through pain, betrayal, and heartbreak. Such emotions changed people, forcing them to go after those who inflicted the same emotions.

Ryu as seen in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga (Image via Shueisha)

Realistically, having fought in the Fourth Shinobi World War should have been enough reason for Shikamaru not to forge such a heinous plan. But the interim Hokage happened to ignore his own analogy while creating the plan to procure the Thorn Soul Bulbs.

As dubbed by Shikamaru, the Human God Trees were like "Wild Beast Cubs," who weren't inherently evil. This also meant they were only aware of the emotions they had experienced firsthand during the short time since they had been manifested.

Therefore, they had yet to go through any traumatic event, causing them to experience pain, betrayal, or heartbreak. Unfortunately, Shikamaru's plan was bound to expose them to such emotions.

The Shinobi should have never nourished the Shinju's awareness with malicious emotions. This is because the Human God Trees were already strong enough to impose a great threat upon the Shinobi world. Hence, giving them an actual reason to hate humanity was like skating on thin ice.

Some of the biggest examples of characters who turned evil due to such emotions were Pain and Obito Uchiha. While both characters wanted peace, their methods were too maliciously roundabout.

As evident from Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 18, Ryu was also on the summit of a similar situation. After being betrayed by the Shinobi, the Human God Tree stated that he set to get some serious trauma from the betrayal he faced. If the Shinju was even partially serious about his emotions, his power should be enough to spell doom for the Shinobi world.